


Wasn't expecting that

by avengerskye



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Blood and Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2019-09-25 01:24:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17111801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengerskye/pseuds/avengerskye
Summary: Josie has a hard time dealing with being buried alive. Luckily Hope's there to help get through it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I'm a big fan of Legacies, and honestly Posie and Hosie are everything.  
> No Penelope shade in this fic. A little bit of Lizzie shade though, so read with caution if you like her character.

Josie Saltzman is not the same after her sweet sixteen. She always used to be the quiet twin, but after that night where she got buried alive, Josie is the shadow of herself. Done are the bright smiles and the bubbly personality. She stayed in her room most of the time, except when there was school. The only people she talked to were her father and her sister. Even MG couldn't get in touch with the brunette. Hope heard Lizzie tell her father that Josie had nightmares every night, without exception. Everyone that cared about Josie was worried, even Penelope. Alaric was thinking about asking Caroline to come back to the school to be with Josie. Hope wished she could do something to help her... almost friend. But, if even MG couldn't talk to her, Hope had no chance.

 

One night, Hope is coming back to her room after getting out on a run when she finds Josie sitting by her door. The girl is hugging her knees and she's crying. She's not sobbing, there's only quiet tears running down her cheeks. Hope's heart almost breaks at the sight. Hope walks slowly as to not startle Josie, and when she gets close enough, she decides to speak up.

 

"Hey." Hope almost whispers.

 

Her plan to not startle Josie fails miserably. Josie jumps and her eyes go wide with fear. Hope quickly gets on her knees by Josie's side. She doesn't really know what to do. She thought about hugging her, but that would be weird, they weren't exactly friends. So Hope just put her hand on Josie's shoulder and squeezed it.

 

"It's just me."

 

Hope's tone is gentle, and the look of profound fear on Josie's face slowly shifts. Josie tries to catch her breath, but it seems hard. Suddenly, there's no silent tears, Josie Saltzman is sobbing. She hides her face in her hands and just cries.

 

"I... I'm- I'm so- so sorry." She barely manages to get out.

 

"What? You don't have to be sorry. It's okay to cry."

 

Hope has a hard time to control her temper at Josie's words. Josie is crying and all she thinks about is that she's a burden. Hope silently curses Lizzie Saltzman for that, the blonde never left any space for Josie.

 

"Listen, why don't you come in? It's late, and the hallways are chilly." Hope says with a rare warm smile.

 

Josie lifts her head and meets Hope's eyes, she seems unsure.

 

"Are you sure?" Josie says, her voice broken.

 

Without saying another word, Hope gets up and helds out her hand to help Josie up. Josie takes it without much hesitation. After Josie is up, she doesn't let go of Hope's hand, but Hope decides to not mention it. Hope unlocks her door, and hold it open for Josie. Josie steps inside Hope's room, but she doesn't go far from the door. Hope closes the door and walks to her bed where she sits down.

 

"You don't have to stand by the door you know." Hope softly says.

 

"We were never allowed to come inside your room." Josie says.

 

Hope chuckles. "I mostly didn't want Lizzie to come in, it was never really about you."

 

It surprises Hope when she hears Josie chuckle too.

 

"Right." Quietly says Josie.

 

Josie's gaze travel around the room for a second before they go back to Hope.

 

"Would you mind if I ..." Josie seems to catch herself and quickly stops herself, but Hope knows what she was about to ask.

 

"Look around, I don't mind."

 

Josie's eyes grow a little wide with surprise, but she nods and starts to walk around the room. Her first stop is at Hope's paintings. A little smile forms itself on Josie's face when she sees them. After that, she moves to the desk where Hope kept most of the frames containing the pictures of her family. The smile slowly disapears from her face, and she gets a sad look again.

 

"How did you do it?"

 

The question is so quiet that Hope barely catches it. The question isn't clear, but somehow Hope knows exactly what Josie means. The thought makes her heart ache and her head spin. Hope gets up and walks slowly to Josie. She's a little behind the brunette, she can see one of the frames from there. The smile on her father's face help her to answer Josie's question.

 

"It was hard." Josie turns around, now they were face to face. "I had nightmares, lots of them. I still have them sometimes. I know they died to protect me, because they loved me so much they couldn't bear to see me hurt. I... I know they're still here. I can almost feel them sometimes."

 

The tears are rolling down Josie's cheeks again. "I killed her Hope."

 

"You did what you had to do. She didn't want to hurt you again, she died to protect you. Because she loves you."

 

Josie nods but she still cries.She looks up to the ceiling and tries to calm her breathing.

 

"I'm terrified, like all the time. I almost can't get out of my room. I always think about the fact that I almost died." Her hand went to the talisman she was wearing around her neck. "If you didn't... I never thanked you."

 

Hope chuckles. "For the talisman or for saving your life?"

 

Josie's eyes were big. "Both."

 

Hope smiles at Josie. "You're welcome."

 

Josie gives Hope a teary smile. She sniffles and look away from Hope.

 

"I don't usually break down like this, not in front of someone anyway." Josie says.

 

Hope takes a step toward Josie. "Right."

 

When Josie looks up, she's surprised to find Hope closer to her than she had been before. Hope wasn't that close to her, Josie had plenty of room to move if she wanted too. Hope was just close enough for Josie to touch her, and somehow, that thought was comforting Josie.

 

"My dad has enough on his plate with Lizzie, and Lizzie, well... she's not that good at comforting people."

 

Hope snorted. "Yeah, I bet."

 

It gets a smile out of Josie, and that smile brings one to Hope's lips. Then Josie's avoiding Hope's eyes again. She plays with the sleeves of her way too large sweater, a nervous habit. She looks at the wall and Hope wonders briefly what she's looking at before Josie speaks up.

 

"It's late. I should go back to my room."

 

The clock. Josie was looking at the clock on Hope's wall. Soon, Josie's walking to the door, but Hope is faster than her. She gets between Josie and the door.

 

"We're way past curfew, I don't even know how you didn't get caught earlier. If you get out and get caught, we'll both be in trouble. You should stay." Josie gives Hope a curious look, which prompts Hope to explain herself. "You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."

 

Josie rolls her eyes. "I'm not gonna kick you out of your bed."

 

"You're not kicking me out, I offered."

 

Josie sighs loudly in defeat. "I'm way too exhausted to fight you on that. Thank you Hope."

 

Hope nods and moves to the bed. She takes one of her pillows and a blanket. After settling them on the floor, she sees that Josie still hasn't moved from the spot she had left her.

 

"You can go to sleep, I'll just change and then I'll turn the lights off."

 

"Are you sure that..."

 

Hope cuts her off. "I'm sure, now go to sleep."

 

Josie doesn't say another word. Hope watches her from the corner of her eyes. She sees Josie pushing the blankets with caution, then she hesitates before just giving in and laying on the bed. When Josie's finally safe and warm in bed, Hope goes to get her night clothes. She changes quickly before laying on the floor. As she tries to sleep, Hope listens to Josie's breathing. It doesn't take long before Josie's asleep. It's only then, with Josie's soft snores, that Hope closes her eyes and lets herself find sleep.

 

They haven't been asleep for two hours when Hope wakes up. There's noises in the room, at first she's so sleepy that she can't really find where they come from. When she finally realizes that the noises are coming from her bed, Hope's sleep is forgotten. She quickly gets up and walk to her bed where Josie tossing around. She turns the nightstand light on and soon realizes that the younger girl is having a nightmare. Without giving herself time to think, Hope gently shakes Josie to wake her up. Tears are running down Josie's cheeks, and when she opens her eyes they are full of fear. Hope strokes Josie's hair gently to try and calm her down, and it seems to work. The fear leaves her eyes and her breathing becomes less agitated.

 

"Hope..." Josie says, her voice betraying what she's been through. "Could you, I mean would you..."

 

The words seem stuck in her throat, and Hope wishes she could just know what Josie wants.

 

"What is it Jo?" Hope softly asks.

 

"Hold me. I want you to hold me."

 

What Josie's asking takes Hope by surprise, and it makes her freeze. She only realizes it when Josie sits up in bed and looks completly panicked.

 

"Oh my god, I totally crossed a line. I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked that from you. We can just go to sleep. I mean I can go to my room, yeah I should go to my room."

 

Josie pushes the blankets, but before she can get out of bed, Hope places both her hands on Josie's shoulders.

 

"How do we do this?" Hope asks.

 

If the lightning hadn't been so bad, Josie would have seen the faint blush on Hope's cheeks. She wanted to help Josie. She just hadn't thought that Josie Saltzman would one day ask her to hold her through the night. With Hope's hands on her shoulders, Josie soon relaxes again. She hadn't scared Hope. They were good.

 

Josie bites her lips before answering. "I mean... would you be my big spoon?"

 

Hope lifts a brow and gives the girl a teasing smile. "You're taller than me."

 

Josie chuckles and rolls her eyes. "I know that, but I'm always the big spoon with Lizzie. I just want..."

 

Hope decides to cut short Josie's embarrassment. "Fine, I'll be your big spoon."

 

Josie gives her a bright smile and Hope finds herself smiling back. They both get under the covers. They awkwardly settle against each other. They're hesitant and awkward about it all, but soon after they are settled, they both relax. Hope can feel Josie's breathing getting calmer with every second. It's a little bit after Josie falls asleep that Hope realizes she's feeling safer than she had in a very long time.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> So the reactions to the first chapter were really amazing. Thank you all for that. The wait for this new chapter was a bit longer than I intended, but I actually decided to rewrite it because I decided to change Lizzie's character a bit. 
> 
> So what happens in 1x07 is cannon here, but Landon didn't press the button to call Hope.
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy this!

When Hope wakes up in the morning, she feels warm. She's still spooning Josie, neither girls had moved through the night. Josie's cluching Hope's hand with hers and her soft snores are the only thing disturbing the quietness of Hope's room. When Hope opens her eyes, she finds out that her head is buried in the back of Josie's neck. Josie's hair is tickling her face, but Hope doesn't move, she's way too comfortable. So instead of moving, Hope just closes her eyes and wills herself to go back to sleep. It doesn't last long though, soon enough there's quick and loud knocking on Hope's door. Hope groans and she feels Josie stirs in her arms.

 

"What..." Josie says, her voice heavy with sleep.

 

"Go back to sleep. I'll answer the door." Hope says, lightly squeezing Josie.

 

Josie hums, appreciating the gesture. Hope untangles herself from Josie and reluctantly gets out of the warmth of her blankets. When she opens the door, she's surprised to find herself nose to nose with Lizzie Saltzman and her father. Lizzie has her arms crossed and doesn't look pleased. Alaric, on the other hand, looks worried.

 

"Hope have you seen Josie since last night? Lizzie says they went to bed at the same time, but..."

 

"Dad?" Josie's voice is heavy with sleep.

 

When Josie speaks, Hope can see the surprise on Alaric and Lizzie's face. Alaric's surprise quickly leaves place to relief, but Lizzie looks completely scandalized. Hope just rolls her eyes, not really surprised that the blonde would react with so much drama. The auburn haired girl opens the door to her room wider to let the newcomers in. Lizzie immediately goes to Josie, she sits on the bed and the twins start a hushed conversation that Hope forces herself not to listen to. Hope's attention drifts to Alaric and she's surprised to see that his attention was already on her. They both stare at each other without saying a word, their relationship still on shaky ground after what had happen with the Necromancer. Alaric is facing his dauthers, his arms are crossed.

 

"Why is she here?" Alaric quietly asks.

 

Hope shrugs. "I don't know."

 

Alaric turns his full body to face Hope and uncrosses his arms. "What do you mean you don't know?"

 

"I found her sitting next to my door last night. She was crying, she told me she had nightmares. I offered her to stay the night."

 

"Why did she come to you?"

 

His questions were starting to irritate Hope, and she was slowly losing her temper.

 

"Look, I'm not the one who should be answering these questions. Stop being angry at me for a minute and focus yourself on Josie, she needs it."

 

They're still staring at each other when one of the twins clears their throat. Hope's attention goes straight to the two younger girls now standing near them. Lizzie looks a little less pissed than she did when she walked into the room. As for Josie, she's giving Hope a little shy smile.

 

"Come on Josie, let's go have breakfast."

 

Lizzie walks past Hope without even looking at her, sure that Josie's following her. However, Josie doesn't follow her, she just keeps standing in her spot. It takes a couple of seconds for Lizzie to notice, but when she does, she quickly comes back to the room.

 

"Josie, are coming or what?" Lizzie asks.

 

"I have to talk to Hope first. Go ahead, I'll catch up with you." Josie says with an encouraging smile.

 

Hope's surprised when Lizzie doesn't say anything snarky or bitchy to her. The blonde just groans and rolls her eyes before storming off.

 

"Dad, would you mind..." Josie doesn't finish her sentence, obviously uncomfortable to ask her father to leave them.

 

Alaric seems to understand anyway. He clears his throat and gives them both his best 'dad' stare.

 

"I want you both in the dining hall in five minutes, understood?"

 

"We'll be there, thank you dad." Josie says.

 

Hope simply nods her answer. It's only when Alaric closes the door behind him that Hope feels a weight being lift from her shoulders.

 

"Thank you for last night, Hope. It's the best night of sleep I've had in a while." Josie says with a warm smile.

 

Hope's smile comes naturally, it always did around Josie. "I was happy to help."

 

"So, I thought that, maybe, we could work on a friendship." Josie tentatively says.

 

Hope's eyes quickly find Josie's, and what she sees surprises her. Josie's eyes are hopeful yet hesitant.It's like she desperately wants Hope to agree, but she's scared of her reaction too. Hope wants to say yes, but at the same time, there's a voice telling her she should be careful.

 

"You want us to be friends."

 

"Yes." Josie says with a nod. "Look, I know we kinda tried before and I turned my back on you. I promise it won't happen again."

 

At the end of Josie's sentence, Hope can hear the younger girl holding her breath preparing herself for Hope's refusal. Hope sighs and finally makes her decision.

 

"Well, Emma did say I should make some friends."

 

Josie release her breath and gives the older girl her brightest smile.

 

"Good! Now we should go to the dining hall before my dad comes back."

 

*

 

It feels like the day just doesn't want to end. After the most awkward breakfast ever, Hope and everyone else had to go to their classes. Hope was seriously starting to get irritated by the looks and whispers that came with being friends with Josie. It started with Lizzie glaring at her during breakfast, then MG whispering his questions to Josie in the hallways, and finally the whole student body looking at them like they were some kind of circus. When the classes came to an end, Hope's head was pounding and she knew she had to do something. She walked to Dr. Saltzman's office and knocked quickly. Without waiting for an answer, Hope walked inside the office.

 

"I need to run. It's urgent." Hope says.

 

It's only when she sees Alaric's worried expression that Hope realizes that she's losing control. She's ready to bet that her eyes are glowing, and she could feel herself about to change.

 

"Hope, you need to calm down." Alaric gently says. "You have permission, be careful."

 

Without missing a beat, Hope practically runs out of his office. She gets out of school and walks to the forest, but a voice calls out her name.

 

"Hope! Hey, wait up."

 

It's Josie. A part of herself wants to turn around but the other part tells her she can't. Without giving herself more time to think, Hope starts to run to the forest. As soon as the school and Josie are out of sight, Hope allows herself to turn. The change is painful, as always, but it's quick and soon brings relief to Hope's inner turmoil. Turning to her wolf form was the best way for her to calm down and think. So she runs, she runs until she can't anymore. Hours pass before Hope walks back to school. The sun has left and the moon is high in the sky. She walks to the tree where she always leaves some clothes in a bag for emergencies. When Hope walks toward the door of the school, she's surprised to find Josie sitting on the steps.

 

"Josie, what are you doing out here?" Hope asks, confused.

 

Josie's head turn sharply in Hope's direction and she quickly stand up.

 

"You ran out of school. It got me worried."

 

Hope frowns. Josie was worried about her. She figured it was a part of having a friend. Hope walks to Josie and stops when she's a couple of steps away from her.

 

"Sorry, today was a bit overwhelming." Hope said honestly.

 

Josie lets out a humorless chuckle and shakes her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

 

Hope eyes went wide, suddenly realizing the day had been overwhelming for Josie too.

 

"I didn't realize that it was rough for you too. I should have..."

 

Josie cuts her off. "It's okay."

 

"No it's not." Hope says with a frown.

 

Josie chuckles for real this time. "Hope, stop it." Josie's smile drops. "Are you okay?"

 

"Me?"

 

"Yes, you ran for hours."

 

Hope looks away from Josie trying to think of a way to answer her new friend's question. Explaining herself to someone who didn't have some authority on her is something new. Hope knows that she doesn't have to tell Josie if she doesn't want to, but she also knows that the brunette means well. The beginning of an answer starts to form itself when Hope looks back to Josie, but the way Josie's hugging herself makes Hope frown again.

 

"Are you cold?" Hope asks.

 

"Uh, yeah, kind of." Josie says with a bashful smile.

 

Hope smiles but shakes her head in disaproval. "Let's get inside before you catch something."

 

Without another word they get inside the school. They don't consult each other to know where they're heading. They both just silently walk to Hope's room. Once they're inside, Josie looks a little more warm but Hope wants to be sure she'll be okay. She opens one of the drawer of her desk and gets one of her sweaters.

 

"Here, it will keep you warm."

 

Josie takes it without much hesitation. As soon as she puts it on, Hope can see the brunette sigh in appreciation.

 

Hope chuckles. "Why were you waiting for me outside in your pyjamas?"

 

Josie's cheek are quickly covered by a blush. "Well, after you ran out, I went back inside to ask my dad if he knew where you were heading. He told me you went out on a run. Lizzie convinced me to just come back to our room and wait to hear from you. Then we went to the dinner hall for dinner and you still weren't there. I went to my room, changed myself and tried to do some homework. I was too worried to think about something else, so I just went outside and waited for you on the steps."

 

"I didn't mean to worry you." Was all Hope could get herself to say.

 

"It's okay, I worry too much sometimes."

 

"I lost control today." Hope started, not looking at Josie. "People were staring, whispering... It got under my skin."

 

"Yeah, I noticed it too."

 

"Lizzie didn't say anything though. What did you tell her?"

 

Hope heard Josie's footsteps, and she felt Josie's gaze on her. Hope was facing the window in her room and in the reflection she could see Josie standing a few steps behind her.

 

"I asked her to give you a break. I-I told her I care."

 

Hope turned around to face Josie. Josie's smile was soft, and it made it hard for Hope to swallow.

 

"I told her you saved my life and that... _you_ care." Josie finishes. "Is that okay?"

 

Hope takes a deep breath. "Yeah."

 

Hope smiles at Josie before walking to her bed. She sits down and is soon joined by the brunette. They just sit there for a while, none of them talking. The clock is on the wall in front of them, they both can see the time running. They both can see how late it is.

 

"I should probably go back to my room." Josie quietly says.

 

Hope swallows hard. "You don't have to."

 

Josie's breath hitches. "Really?"

 

Hope sighs, she looks at Josie and gives her a smile. "Let's get to bed, okay?"

 

Josie's smile is enough to let Hope know that the brunette had never really wanted to go.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter! Every reaction and comments are welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So the wait for this chapter was longer than what I thought it would be. I wrote three different versions of this. I decided to go with this one. I hope it was the right choice.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this!

When Hope is being shoved in an empty classroom, she wonders who would have the audacity of doing that to her. Hope turns around as the door slams shut. When she finds herself in front of Penelope Park, Hope gets really confused. A deep frown makes its way on the auburn haired girl's face at the sight of an unpleased Penelope.

 

"What's your deal with Josie?" Penelope demands.

 

Realization dawns on Hope. Of course it was about Josie, she should have known. Still, Hope decides to play dumb.

 

"What are you talking about Penelope?" Hopes says, crossing her arms in the process.

 

Penelope takes a few steps towards Hope. "Don't play dumb with me, mutt. I know Josie has been sleeping in your room for a week now. So, explain."

 

Hope can't help the small smirk that comes after hearing Penelope's words.

 

"Did you ask Josie?" Hope asks. "I bet you didn't, 'cause you know she wouldn't have answered you. So neither will I. Mind your own business Penelope."

 

Hope uncrosses her arms and walks past Penelope with the firm intention to get out of the classroom and put that conversation behind her, but a firm hand on her forearm prevents her from doing so. Penelope is playing a dangerous game with Hope, and the tribrid is intending on making it clear. However, when Hope's eyes leave the hand on her forearm to find Penelope's face, what they see makes Hope reconsider her next move. She sees a vulnerability so rare on Penelope's face that it pushes Hope to soften a bit, just a little bit.

 

"I just want to know if she's okay. You could at least tell me that."

 

"I don't have to tell you anything." Hope replies.

 

"You can't fucking blame me for caring!" Penelope shouted, her grip on Hope's arm tightening.

 

Hope gets out of the tight grip with ease. She was getting angry, but surprisingly enough she felt in control of her anger. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she wasn't angry for her, but for Josie.

 

"You lost every right to care when you broke her heart."

 

Hope's words have the effect of a punch in the stomach to Penelope. The emotions succeed themselves on Penelope's face. Shock, disbelief, anger, sadness and finally resignation. Penelope lets out a humourless laugh, some unshed tears still in her eyes.

 

"You're right Hope. I broke Josie's heart. I failed her." Penelope takes a deep breath. "I loved her, you know? I still do. It gets really hard to love someone when they're so focused on someone else. When I met Josie, I thought she was the love of my life, but I got tired of being the only one fighting for us."

 

Hope clenches her jaw, unsure of how she should react to what she just heard. If she was honest, Hope didn't know much about Penelope Park. Her bitchy attitude was enough to push Hope away as soon as they met. She had never really understood why Josie had fallen for Penelope. Hope wonders if this is the side of Penelope Josie had fallen for, the vulnerable and caring side.

 

Penelope chuckles, catching Hope off guard. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be strong enough to love her."

 

A blush covers Hope's cheeks. "Josie and I are just friends."

 

"If you say so. Just don't hurt her, because if you do, I'll find a way to kill you. Tribrid or not, it won't matter."

 

Penelope lifts an eyebrow, challenging Hope to say something. Hope doesn't though, she just lifts up her chin, not wanting Penelope to think her threats have an effect on her.

 

"Come on now, she must be looking for you."

 

As soon as Penelope moves to the door, Hope follows her. When Penelope stops after she passes the door, Hope wonders why. The voice she hears next makes her stop too.

 

"Penelope? Hope?" Josie's voice is surprised and her eyes are wide.

 

The look on Josie's face reminds Penelope of when the brunette had found her making out with MG. Surprise mixed with betrayal.

 

"What were you doing together?" Josie says, her voice small.

 

Hope spots the smirk on Penelope's face and she knows that the girl is up to something.

 

"Just ask your new lover, Jojo."

 

Penelope turns to Hope and winks at her before making her way out of the hallway. Hope is angry by what Penelope had just implied. Hope watches Penelope's retreat and tries to calm herself before giving Josie all her attention. When Hope's eyes finally find Josie, the brunette is looking at the ground, clearly calming herself too.

 

"Jo..." Hope tries to get her attention.

 

Hope hears Josie take a deep breath, then she lifts her head and looks at the ceiling.

 

"Please, tell me you're not hooking up with her."

 

Hope's eyes grow wide. "What?! No, I'm not!"

 

Josie's hugging herself and looking everywhere but at Hope. Then, Hope makes a decision. She walks straight to Josie and takes her into her arms. The embrace is tight and soon enough she feels Josie bury her face into her neck. Josie lets Hope hold her, she doesn't move nor does she talk.

 

"I would never do that to you, okay? Even if I was into her, I wouldn't hurt you like that."

 

Josie gets her head out of Hope's neck and gives Hope a look that the tribrid can't decipher.

 

"Right." Josie simply says. "Hope, I..."

 

"Josie! Finally, you're there. Mom's home!"

 

Hope doesn't know who moves away first, but before she knows it, the hug is over. Lizzie's excitement quickly leaves place to confusion and suspicion.

 

"Did I interrupt something?" Lizzie's voice is full of sarcasm.

 

"Drop it Lizzie." Josie says, then she shifts her attention to Hope. "I should go."

 

Without waiting for Hope's answer, Josie starts to walk to where Lizzie was standing. Hope shakes herself out of her surprise and quickly catches Josie's wrist to stop her. Josie turns to her and gives her a questionning look. The fact that the brunette's expression is cute quickly passes through Hope's mind, but she forces her brain to let go of it.

 

"Should I wait for you tonight? I really think we need to talk."

 

Josie smiles. "I'll be there."

 

Hope smiles back. "Good."

 

*****

 

It's nearly midnight when Hope hears a light knock on her door. Josie knows she doesn't have to wait for Hope to answer, so she just opens the door. Hope's eyes leave the book she was currently reading to look at Josie. The brunette witch had already changed herself into her pyjamas and her hair was falling down into waves on her shoulders. It was a good look on her, Hope couldn't help but think.

 

"Hey." Josie says with a tired smile. "I hope you weren't waiting for me. I know it's late, we didn't see the hours pass. Can you believe that my mom is home? We had so much to talk about and... I'm totaly rambling."

 

"It's cute."

 

The words leave Hope's mouth before she can stop herself. Both girls were wearing matching blushes on their cheeks.

 

"I mean, your rambling is cute. You're happy your mother is home, so it's normal for you to ramble, and you have every right to do so. You miss her so much when she's away and you went through some things recently."

 

Josie decides to tease the older girl. "Now, who's rambling?

 

Hope chuckles. "Okay, I get it smartass."

 

Josie laughs a little while walking to the bed to sit next to Hope. Without hesitation, Josie settles herself under the blankets and cuddles into Hope's side. Hope turns her to look at Josie, still getting used to being this close to the younger girl, but Josie's satisfied smile has a way to make Hope calm herself.

 

"What were you reading?" Josie asks.

 

"Oh, nothing..."

 

"Is that my dad's book? Are you reading the chapter about your father?"

 

Hope sighed, there were no reasons to lie."Yeah."

 

Josie frowned, concerned. "Maybe you shouldn't read that, you know? It can't be easy for you."

 

"I've already read it multiple times Josie. I know exactly how your father describes mine."

 

Hope's tone was a lot harsher than she had intended. Josie was taken aback by the venom in her words. Hope silently curses herself.

 

"I didn't mean to..." Josie starts.

 

"No, please, it's okay. _I_ didn't mean to snap at you like that." When Josie doesn't answer, Hope decides to try and change the subject. She gently nudges Josie. "How did it go with your mom?"

 

It brings a smile to Josie's face. "It was good. She found two new students, she actually brought them back. They're younger, so Emma took care of them. She spent all evening in our room. It feels good to have her back."

 

"How long is she around for?"

 

"A couple of weeks. She came back to help the town with the whole Founder's day thing." Josie says with a shrug.

 

"Oh, right. That's soon, isn't it?"

 

"In two weeks. My sister can't wait to know if she was chosen to participate in the Miss Mystic Falls contest."

 

Hope lets out a little laugh. "Of course." A pause. "Aren't you? I mean, you could be one of those girls. You come from a founding family."

 

Josie laughs and shake her head. "No, if one of us has to do it I'd prefer that Lizzie does."

 

"Why?"

 

"She'd be good at it, I wouldn't, and I'd have to find an escort."

 

Hope playfully rolls her eyes. "Come on, I know a lot of people who'd die to be your escort."

 

Josie shakes her head, smiling."If you say so."

 

"I'm pretty sure Penelope would love to be your escort."

 

Josie groans. "Oh please, don't talk about her."

 

"I thought we were going to talk about her tonight." Hope pushes. "Don't you still have feelings for her? You kissed her on your birthday, right?"

 

"Do I still have feelings for her? Sure, I mean she was my first love, and that kind of feeling doesn't really go away. I did kiss her on my birthday, but it was just some kisses. It was familiar and comforting. I made it clear with her that it was nothing more. I can't crawl back to someone who hurt me that bad."

 

Josie hadn't looked at Hope the whole time she had been talking about Penelope. Her knees were up and her arms were holding them close. Her eyes were full of hurt, and it made Hope realize that the wound was still very fresh for Josie. Suddenly Josie's head turned to Hope.

 

"Why were you together in an empty classroom this afternoon?"

 

"She wanted to talk."

 

"About what?" Josie asks, not really impressed with Hope's answer.

 

Hope sighs. "About you. She wanted to know how you were doing and what is going on between us."

 

"Is that why she called you my new lover?" Josie asks with a light frown.

 

Hope feels the blush covering her cheeks. "I never said we were anything more than friends. She's just... Well you know, she's Penelope."

 

Josie leans her head on her knees, her face towards Hope. "She's not the only one who thinks we're more than friends, you know?"

 

"Really?"

 

Josie lifts her head and chuckles. "Hope, we've been sleeping in the same room for a week. People have noticed."

 

"Don't you mind?"

 

"Why? I never really cared about rumors."

 

"What if it gets to your parents?"

 

Josie rolls her eyes. "Please, my father already asked about it. Lizzie told everything to my mother before I even had the chance to."

 

They share a knowing look before breaking into a fit of laughing. It felt so good to Hope to feel this free with someone. After their laughter has died down, Josie yawns.

 

"Are you ready to sleep?"

 

"Would you mind? I had a long day."

 

"It's fine. We'll talk tomorrow."

 

Hope turns her nightstand light on before getting up to close the room's light. When she settles back under the blankets, she sees that something's going on in Josie's mind.

 

"Is everything okay Jo?"

 

Josie's head sharply turns to Hope. "Yeah, I just forgot to ask you something."

 

"Well, what is it?"

 

"We're having a family dinner tomorrow night and my mom asked me to ask you to come."

 

Hope is surprised and she frowns. "Why?"

 

"I don't know, but can you come please? I'd actually really like it if you were there."

 

Josie's hopeful smile is enough to make Hope's firm no turn to a yes, so she agrees. After that, they both lie down and Hope turns the light off. She's about to turn around to hold Josie, but Hope feels Josie move closer to her. Soon there's an arm around her waist and Josie is spooning her.

 

"Is this okay?"

 

Josie's breath near Hope's ear is enough to make Hope shiver. "Yeah."

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Hope knows one thing right now and it is that there is tensions in the room. Caroline, Alaric, Lizzie, Josie and herself and sitting together for dinner. Caroline and Alaric are sitting on each end of the table, Josie and Hope on one side and Lizzie on the other. Lizzie hadn't been too happy when Josie had chosen to sit with Hope. Surprisingly, Josie only gave her sister an apologetic smile before sitting down. Alaric had said hello to Hope, but he hasn't said another word to her ever since. Caroline was as bubbly and talkative as Hope remembered, but the tribrid could still feel that weird tension between them. It had always been there, Caroline was doing her best to mask it, but Hope could just feel it.

"Well, this dinner is definitely not awkward." Lizzie groans quietly.

"Lizzie!" Josie scolds.

"For once she's not wrong." Hope mumbles.

What Hope doesn't expect is being on the receiving end of one of Josie's glare. She opens her mouth to say something but the words die in her throat.

"Girls, please..." Alaric says in a sigh.

"Alaric is right. You've fought enough since you know each other. Can't you all get along for one dinner?"Caroline said with a smile.

Caroline's eyes land on each girl invidually. First Lizzie, then Hope and she ends with Josie. Her eyes stay longer on the brunette. Josie quickly tries to defend herself.

"Don't look at me like that! I'm the one who's actually getting along with everyone."

Lizzie snorts, her face is full of annoyance. Josie's head snaps in her direction.

"Is there something you wanna say?" Josie asks.

"Sure. You might get along with everyone Josie, but you're not willing to let anyone in. I've been trying to get something out of you for days, but you won't speak to me." Lizzie looks at Hope. "Does she talk to you? Or does she act like everything's fine?"

Hope's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Being in the middle of family drama wasn't what Hope had expected from that dinner. From the corner of her eye, she can see Josie tense up.

"What Josie tells me or doesn't tell me, isn't something I'm willing to share. Josie will tell you when she's ready."

Hope turns her head to fully look at Josie, to make sure that she did the right thing. Josie's smile is grateful and almost shy. Josie's hand finds Hope's on the table and it causes Hope to blush. Their moment is cut short when Lizzie snorts and abruptly gets up.

"Whatever lovebirds." Lizzie says and rolls her eyes.

She walks out of the dinning room without another word.

"Elizabeth!" Caroline calls her.

Alaric gets up. "I'll go check on her."

Caroline sighs but lets him go. Hope feels out of place. She quickly lets go of Josie's hand and clears her throat.

"I should go. This dinner was wonderful, thank you Mrs. Salvatore-Forbes."

"Hope..." Josie tries.

Hope gives Josie a tight-lipped smile. Josie swallows hard but she still nods, understanding why Hope wants to leave.

"Actually, I need to speak with you. Please, stay." Caroline says.

Hope's eyes quickly find Caroline, but she's not sure she understands what she sees in them. Determination, fear, desesperation. The emotions of the blonde vampire are confusing, and it makes Hope's decision easy. Caroline's next words kinda makes her reconsider though.

"Josie, sweetie, would you leave us?"

Josie frowns. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." Is all Caroline is willing to say.

Josie looks at Hope. She seems to be looking for something. It takes Hope a moment to understand that Josie wants to make sure she's okay with what was about to happen.

"It's fine Jo." Hope smiles. "Maybe you should go see if Lizzie's alright, don't you think?"

"Okay."

She gets up and walks to get out of the room, but she suddenly stops at the door.

"If you need me..."

"I'll come find you."

Then Josie's out of the door. Hope's gaze lingers on the place where Josie was standing a second ago, until Caroline clears her throat. Hope gives her her attention, but doesn't acknoledge the quirked eyebrow Caroline gives her.

"There's something you wanted to talk about, right?" Hope says instead.

"Tell me about the talisman you gave Josie for her birthday."

It takes Hope by surprise, a blush quickly covering her cheeks.

"What about it?"

"Why did you give it to her?"

Hope shrugs, wanting Caroline to think it didn't mean that much.

"It was just a gift, nothing more."

Caroline smiles and looks down while shaking her head.

"You Mikaelson's never give something without a reason." Caroline's tone of voice is gentle, afraid to cross some kind of limit.

Hope crosses her arms, not sure what she's willing to tell Josie's mother. Caroline always talked like she knew more about her family than she did, and usually it had a way to annoy Hope, but now it was just making her curious.

"Look Hope, I know how it feels to have a Mikaelson care about you. Just be careful with Josie."

"I would never hurt Josie." Hope feels the need to defend herself.

"I didn't say you would. I'm just asking you to be careful with how you treat my little girl."

Then what is happening dawns on Hope. This is Caroline's kind of shovel talk. Josie's mother thought they were dating.

"Josie and I aren't..."

Hope's cut her sentence short when Josie walks into the room with Alaric and Lizzie.

"Are we interrupting something?" Alaric asks Caroline.

Caroline smiles. "No, our conversation was over."

Alaric looks at Hope with the same look he's been giving her since she met the Necromancer. Hope holds his gaze, unwilling to show him the hurt she feels. The stare down only ends when a hand tugs on Hope's long-sleeved shirt. As soon as she turns to face the person who wants her attention, Hope finds herself looking right into Josie's eyes. Lately, she's been finding Josie's chocolate brown eyes very calming.

"I'm going back to my room, are you coming back with me?" Hope softly asks Josie, not caring about the brunette's family gazes.

"I'll meet you there soon, okay?"

"Okay."

Two hours later, Josie finally joins Hope in her room. They don't talk much before they both decide to call it a night. When Josie settles next to her under the covers, Hope feels herself relax instantly. She doesn't let herself think about it before she embraces Josie. It feels oddly natural when Josie holds her hand and whispers her good night. Instead of thinking about that, Hope nestles her head in the back of Josie's neck, breathing in the distinct smell of Josie's vanilla shampoo.

*****

It's a week later and they are eating breakfast in the dinning hall. Josie, Hope, MG, Rafael and even Penelope are there, only Lizzie was missing. The gang has been getting along better with each passing day. Hope never thought she'd have this much friends in her life, but she was liking it so far. Josie's kind eyes, MG's hilarious references, Rafael's loyalty, Penelope's bitchy attitude and even Lizzie's drama queen nature.

Every head turns when a bouncing Lizzie runs to their table.

"You guys won't believe it!" Her excitement was barely contained. "Josie and I are both competing for the Miss Mystic Falls title."

Josie chokes with her cereals. Hope quickly pats her back and Josie gives her a sheepish smile as she regains her calm.

"B-both of us?"

"Yeah, isn't that exciting?" Lizzie says as she sits down in front of Josie.

Josie forces a smile. "Yeah."

Hope catches Penelope and Rafael's gaze on Josie and it makes her frown. She knows how Lizzie feels about her ex, as well as she knows how the brunette's crush on Rafael is now pretty much inexistant. She just hopes that Josie will be strong enough to say no to them if she doesn't wanna go with them.

"All we have to do now is to find our escorts." Lizzie gives her sister a mischevious smile. "Do you know who you want to be your escort Jo?"

Penelope and Rafael are all ears, and Hope rolls her eyes at their eargerness.

"Yes." Josie's answer takes everyone by surprise. She turns to Hope and gives her a hopeful smile. "Hope, will you be my escort?"

Hope can feel all the eyes on her. Defiance, curiousity, excitement, anger... The only eyes that matters are Josie's though. Full of hope, but still shy.

"It would be my pleasure."

They're saved from any awkwardness by the bell signaling they have to get to class. Hope almost sighs in relief. They all part ways to get to their respective classes. As Josie walks away from the table, Hope's eyes lingers on her. She's caught when Josie turns her head over her shoulder to look back at Hope. Hope smiles at her and give Josie an awkward wave. Josie smiles back, pushes a strand of her hair behind her ear and turns her head again. The feeling building in Hope's stomach makes her blush. What was Josie Saltzman doing to her?

*****

Later that day, Hope and Josie are doing homework in Hope's room. Hope is sitting on her bed, and Josie is laying on her stomach at the end of the bed. Hope looks at Josie and realizes that the witch is going nowhere with her homework.

"Jo, you okay?" Hope asks as she nudges Josie with her foot.

Josie head turns sharply towards Hope. "Did you feel trapped when I asked you to be my escort?"

Now Hope understands. Of course, Josie would worry about that kind of thing. Hope can see the fear and guilt on Josie's face. If only she had known that the brunette had been worried about such a silly thing.

"No, I didn't. I feel honored that you want me as your escort." Hope says with a smile. Then she does her best to try and get the tension off of Josie. "People will talk though." She says with a smirk. "You'll have to tell me how the founders'll react when you tell them your escort is Hope Mikaelson."

Josie giggles and shakes her head. Then as if she remembers something, Josie turns serious.

"There's dance rehearsal on Saturday, are you free?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." Hope says.

"Good." Josie hesitates before saying something more. "Lizzie and I are going dress shopping with our mom on Friday after school. Would you like to join us?" Josie proposes.

"No need. Just tell me the color and the style of your dress, and I'll wear one that will compliment yours."

Josie archs a brow. "You have dresses hidden somewhere in this room?"

Hope rolls her eyes playfully. "No, they're all in New Orleans. I'll ask my aunt Freya to send one to me."

Before Josie can respond, she receives a text from Lizzie. Hope sees Josie reading the text, and she gets slightly worried when a frown appears on Josie's face.

"I have to go. Lizzie needs me."

Josie quickly gathers her things and heads for the door.

"Wait! Is she okay?" Hope asks.

Josie is surprised by Hope's concern. "Not really. I'll tell you more tomorrow. Good night Hope."

Then Josie is out of Hope's room before Hope has a chance to say something. It's the first night they'll be spending apart since that first night. Hope doesn't really know why it upsets her, but she knows that she hates it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> To be honest I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I still hope you'll like it. Next one will be better anyway. I promise a lot of fluff!


	5. Chapter 5

Hope didn't have the chance to see Josie that morning. It was tradition, they told her. The girls get reading upstairs and their escorts have to wait for them downstairs. If Hope laughed at the faces the founders made when they saw her at dance rehearsals, she's not laughing now. Everyone is looking it seems, as Hope is standing between two boys. They're all in line waiting for their girl to come down the stairs. Hope is nervous and a little scared. It doesn't have anything to do with the whispers nor the stares. What's making Hope so nervous is Josie. She just wants to be good enough for her. Last time Josie was supposed to go to a ball, she ended up buried alive, so this night had to be flawless. Hope supposes that she isn't the only one that's nervous.

 

When they start to call out the girls names, Hope straightens herself, ready to be the best escort for Josie. Hope briefly makes eye contact with Josie's mother, and what she see's in Caroline's eyes makes her blush. The tribrid quickly tries to compose herself, unwilling to be a flustered mess when Josie needs her to be as elegant as her aunt Rebekah could be. Josie's name is the last to be called, but it's worth the wait. Josie's hair is falling on her shoulders in beautiful curls. You can barely see that she's wearing make up, but Hope can't help but be happy about it. Josie doesn't need make up, she's gorgeous with or without it. Josie's navy blue halter dress is long enough to cover her ankles, and it makes Josie looks graceful. Hope's breath quickly gets caught in her throat. Josie was a sight to behold, and she was Hope's for the night.

 

Hope walks to the end of the stairs, waiting for Josie to walk to her. Josie looks shy when she gets to the bottom of the stairs. Hope gives her an encouraging smile and offer her her arm. Josie takes it without hesitation and they start walking to the dance floor.

 

"You're stunning Josie."

 

It gets a radiant smile out of the brunette. "You look beautiful too Hope. Your dress fits you really well."

 

Hope smiles fondly at Josie. The forest green of her strapless dress was complimenting Josie's dark blue dress perfectly.

 

"Are you ready?" Hope asks as she sees the other contestant already in their spots for the waltz.

 

Josie took a deep breath and forced a smile. "As ready as I can be." She says just before they part ways to go find their own spot.

 

Josie's eyes went over every girl competing for the Miss Mystic Falls title, to finally land on her sister. Lizzie caught her gaze and gave her a smile that Josie returned. Standing in front of Lizzie was MG proubly smiling at Lizzie. To say he was surprised when Lizzie had asked him to be her date would be an understatement. His answer was yes immediately, causing a groan to escape Penelope's mouth. Hope only wished that Lizzie wouldn't hurt him anymore, he didn't deserve it. As the music starts, so does the dance. It goes on smoothly, Hope knowing all the steps before the rehearsals and Josie being a quick learner. Their eyes stay glued to each other, and when the dance finally allows them to touch, Hope some kind of spark igniting. It's so strong, that there's no way she could ignore it now. As they dance closer than before, Josie's smile becomes more genuine, more comfortable. As for Hope, she just knows that her smile is the biggest it's ever been.

 

When the song ends, and it's time to seperate themselves, Hope tries to convince herself that what she feels isn't disapointment. The girls competing for the title still have to prove themselve, without their escorts this time. So Hope stands a little far from the dance floor, near the staircase.

 

"It's been a long time since Josie looked that happy."

 

Hope jumps in surprise. Normally her senses would have alerted her of Alaric's appearance, but she was so focused on looking at Josie that she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. Alaric laughs a little and against Hope's will, she laughs too.

 

"You're doing her some good Hope." Alaric says, back to his serious self.

 

"I do my best to make sure she's happy and safe." Hope says, looking at Josie.

 

"Don't break her heart." Alaric warns.

 

Hope turns to him, her eyes wide. "It's funny how everyone just assumes we're more than friends. You're going to be happy Dr. Saltzman. I don't have the power to break her heart, because she's not in love with me."

 

Alaric looks at Hope and they stare at each other for a good moment. Then Alaric's eyes find Josie, Hope's do too. She only realizes that Alaric's eyes are back on her when he speaks again.

 

"She has to power to break yours though."

 

Alaric leaves Hope with those words. Hope's body goes tense, not expecting his words. Was she in love with Josie? No, she couldn't be. As Hope's eyes found Josie for the hundreth time that day, her answer to her own question changed. Maybe she was a little bit in love with Josie Saltzman. Could she trust her feelings this time? Would Josie even be receptive to them? A lot of questions swarm in her mind for what feels like hours, but only is a few minutes. The only thing that brings her back to reality is one of the founders announcing that Lizzie has win the title of Miss Mystic Falls. Josie looks so happy for her twin that it makes Hope smile.

 

Soon after the announcement, Josie makes her way through the crowd to get to Hope. Her smile is bright and she looks sheepish, making Hope wonder what was happening.

 

"Hope Mikaelson, would you do me the honor to dance with me?" Josie says with and extended hand.

 

Hope chuckles, but quickly compose herself. "It would be my pleasure."

 

She takes Josie's hand in hers and let the taller girl guide her to the dance floor where a soft song played through the speakers. Hope is a little surprised when Josie pulls them close.

 

"Would mind leading? I'm not sure how." Josie whispers.

 

"Don't worry, I got it."

 

Hope takes the lead with ease. Soon enough, they're even closer than they had been before. Josie leans her head on Hope's shoulder and it's a little awkward since Hope is shorter, but neither girls mention it.

 

"This is my favorite song. I asked them to play it, so I could dance with you." Josie whispers near Hope's ear.

 

Josie's breath brings a shiver to run down Hope's spine. Hope tightens her hold on the younger girl, and she practically can feel Josie's smirk against her skin. It makes Hope's heart flutter, and that's when Hope realizes that she has to be honest with Josie. It's not fair to the witch to hold her like this when Hope has those feelings.

 

"Josie, I have to tell you something." Hope softly says.

 

"Not tonight, let's just enjoy this, okay?"

 

"But..."

 

Josie lifts her head from where it was resting on Hope's shoulder.

 

"We've been through so much in the last few weeks, let's just have tonight. Please, Hope."

 

Hope's determination goes out the window when her eyes meet Josie's. There's a mixture of pain and sadness in Josie's big brown eyes. Silently, Hope swears that if she has anything to do with it, she'll never see those emotions in Josie's eyes again. Hope makes Josie twirl before pulling her close again.

 

As soon as Josie's eyes are looking in hers, Hope whispers. "As you wish."

 

Soon after that, the songs changes and Lizzie tugs on Josie's arm and ask her to dance. Josie excuses herself before being pulled away by Lizzie. As the minutes passes and Josie doesn't come back. Hope decides to go out on the balcony to get a bit of fresh air. Under the light of the stars, Hope starts to think of her parents. She wonders if they'd be proud of her, just like Alaric and Caroline are proud of their twins. The thoughts make some tears escape her eyes, and she quickly wipes them away when she hears footsteps approaching her.

 

"Hope? Are you crying?" Josie's soft voice asks.

 

"No." Hope tries.

 

But soon enough, Josie is standing by her side and can clearly see the tears still running down her cheeks. Careful, Josie lifts a hand and with her thumb she catches Hope's tears.

 

"Didn't you tell me it's okay to cry?" Josie says, as gentle as ever. "Why are you crying? Did something happen?"

 

"No. It's stupid really." Hope tries to convince Josie.

 

"I'm sure it's not, but it's okay if you don't wanna talk about it." Josie leans her elbows on the banister of the balcony and looks at the sky. "The stars are beautiful."

 

Hope's gaze join Josie's. "They are..."

 

Josie looks back at Hope. "Care to give me another dance?" She says as she extends her hand, much like she had done earlier.

 

"Here?" Hope asks, her eyes growing wide.

 

Josie smiles and chuckles. "Yeah, why not?"

 

Hope blushes under Josie's playful smile. All she can do is nod her answer. Hope's surprise isn't over, because Josie puts her hands around her neck, leaving the tribrid no other choice but to place her hands on the brunette's waist. Somehow, it feels more intimate than their last dance. There is no one around, this dance is only for them. They look each other in the eyes the whole time, neither of them willing to cut their moment short. They both lean closer, neither of them could tell who did first though. They're close enough to kiss, Hope knows that. She looks into Josie's eyes for any sign of uncertainty. When she sees none, Hope gathers the little courage she has left and leans to close the gap. Before she could though, a voice makes them jump apart.

 

"Josie! Lizzie's been..." MG realizes what he just walked in on. "Oh shit, never mind. I'll tell her you're busy."

 

It takes Hope about a milisecond to collect herself and put her walls back on.

 

"No need, MG. She's all yours." Hope says as she walks to leave the balcony.

 

"Hope!" Josie yells, and quickly runs to catch up with the tribrid. When she's close enough, she grips Hope's wrist. "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

 

The worry on Josie's face makes Hope's heart clench. She gently pushes some hair out of Josie's face and place them behind her ear, carressing her cheek as she ends her motion. She doesn't miss the blush covering Josie's cheeks.

 

"Nothing's wrong. Stop worrying all the time. Go be with your sister, it's her night after all."

 

The worry leaves Josie's face to be replaced by a soft smile.

 

"I'll join you in your room later." Josie says, but it's more like a question.

 

"Of course, the door will be unlocked."

 

They leave each other with those words and a smile on their faces. Later that night, Hope is already half asleep when Josie quietly makes her entrance in the room. Hope can hear her rummage through her bag. Josie changes herself and as soon as she's done she slips under the covers. Hope sighs happily when Josie settles herself to spoon her, her arm tightening around Hope's waist. Hope feels Josie chuckle after her content sigh.

 

"I thought you were sleeping." Josie whispers.

 

"I couldn't, you weren't here." Hope finds herself confessing.

 

Hope feels Josie's body freeze at the confession. Hope's about to backtrack, but then she feels a soft kiss on her shoulder. Josie's lips linger on her shoulder for a good moment.

 

"You want to know something?" Josie whispers. "I didn't sleep the last time I slept in my room. Your presence is the thing that makes me feel safe."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of this fluff is for you my fellow shipper!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! 
> 
> So this chapter is like really long. There's some violence and mention of blood, so if you can't handle that kind of thing I'd advise you not to read it. I don't want any of you to be triggered by this. 
> 
> Also, I'm introducing two original characters in this chapter. I know it's doesn't make a lot of sense, but just go with it okay? 😅

Josie is in her room packing some clothes in a little duffle bag. She had been thinking about it for a while now, leaving some clothes in Hope's room seemed logical since she was sleeping there every night. The only problem was that she didn't want to impose herself, or even scare Hope. She was glad the night before when Hope had casually proposed the idea while they were cuddled in bed watching some movie. They had grown even more close after the whole Miss Mystic Falls thing, but neither of them had brought up the almost kiss. Josie didn't really mind, at least Hope hadn't shut her out.

 

When the door opens, Josie's heart skip a beat. For a moment, a deep fear makes her freeze. She's not even able to turn her head and look at who's coming in the room.

 

"What a surprise! I haven't seen you in here for weeks." Lizzie says with a bitchy tone she usually doesn't use on her twin.

 

Even with the bitchy attitude, Lizzie's voice makes Josie calm down instantly. She wasn't in danger, her sister would never hurt her. Josie concentrates herself on her breathing, trying to regain her composure.

 

"Jo? Are you okay? You're all pale. I'll go get dad." Lizzie quickly says.

 

"No!" Josie turns around and face Lizzie. "I'm okay, don't tell dad."

 

"He's really worried about you, and I- I am too. It seems like you're okay, but sometimes you act so weird. Do you... do you talk to her at least?"

 

"Her?" Josie says, knowing full well who Lizzie was referencing to.

 

Lizzie rolls her eyes. "Hope. You know, the only person you actually spend time with."

 

Josie's hand immediately goes to the necklace around her neck, playing with it. Then she turns back to her bag and starts packing again.

 

"We do talk, amongst other things." Josie says.

 

"Ew! I really don't wanna hear more." Lizzie says, fake gagging soon after.

 

Josie feels the blush covering her cheeks. She turns around again to glare at her sister.

 

"It's not like that! I only meant... You know what forget it." Josie rolls her eyes and turn her back to Lizzie.

 

Josie closes her bag and puts the strap over her shoulder.

 

"Where are you going with that?" Lizzie asks, clearly confused.

 

Suddenly, Josie feels really shy to admit to her sister that she's gonna leave some clothes in Hope's room. It dawns on her how it could be perceived. Then she realized that it couldn't be worst than it already was. Everyone already thought they were dating.

 

"To Hope's room." Josie says as casually as she can.

 

"Why do you bring a bag with you?" Lizzie asks.

 

"I'm gonna leave some clothes there, it'll keep me from coming back here every morning." Josie explains, not looking at Lizzie.

 

Josie misses the hurt on her sister's face. "Why do you want to avoid me that much? I don't get it. We always told each other everything and now you can't even look at me."

 

Josie's eyes grow wide, she hadn't realized how much her behavior had been affecting Lizzie. She wishes she could tell Lizzie what she's going through, but she doesn't know how. With Hope, Josie doesn't need to talk most of the time. Hope just gets it, when a feeling overwhelms Josie, Hope knows how to react, what to say. Explaining herself to Lizzie almost feels impossible.

 

"I don't know what to tell you Liz." Josie drops, looking at the ceiling to find some courage. "There's a fear inside of me that I can't seem to get rid of, but with Hope it's not that bad. She makes the worries go quiet, she holds me until the voices in my head get quiet. I don't know why, but she makes me feel safe."

 

Lizzie's eyes leave Josie as she tries to fight her tears. Hearing what her twin is going through, and knowing that she's not the one making her feel safe hurts her. At the same time, she feels relieved that Josie does have someone who makes her feel safe. For the first time in her life, Lizzie is glad that Hope Mikaelson is alive. Before Lizzie has the time to say something to Josie, a loud knock is being heard. Josie goes to open the door to find her father on the other side.

 

"Josie, hi." Alaric says with his dad smile. Then the worry clouds his face. "Do you know where Hope is? She hasn't been in class this afternoon and I can't reach her phone. She's not answering her door either."

 

Josie frowns, worried too. "We left each other at lunch. We were supposed to meet in her room in..." Josie looks at the time on her phone. "Five minutes ago. I have a key to her room, we should go look if she's there."

 

Josie doesn't leave any time for Alaric to process her answer, he barely has time to blink before she's out of the door and walking to Hope's room. Josie doesn't know why, but she feels like something's wrong. It didn't make any sense, for Hope to miss classes. Josie's thoughts are running in her head, she's so worried she doesn't even hear her father and her sister calling her out. As soon as she's in front of Hope's door, Josie pulls out her key, but when she opens the door her worry deepens. Hope isn't there, and by the look of the room, Josie can safely assume that she wasn't in her room since this morning when they left together. She looks everywhere, but there's no sign that the tribrid has been in her room. Soon, Josie is choking for air, unable to breath.

 

"Josie!" Lizzie yells.

 

"Baby, you need to breathe for me." Alaric says as he wraps her in his arms. "Come on Josie, breathe."

 

Somehow, Josie is able to calm her breathing, but her father doesn't let her go. He tightens his embrace and gently strokes her hair.

 

"What's happening Josie?" He asks quietly.

 

"I don't know." She chokes out. "It's not normal. She wouldn't just leave dad. I know she wouldn't. Something happened, we have to find her."

 

Alaric organizes a search party. Teachers and students soon volunteer. After the whole Malivore thing, everyone know how much danger there is out there, and they have to protect their own. As Hope is a tribrid, all three factions of the school gets out to find her. First, the witches try to locate her, but it's as if she didn't exist anymore. Josie refuses to let that thought get to her head, Hope is still alive, she has to be. Then the vampires and werewolf team up to try and find her with their supernatural senses. Fear starts to creep to Josie. Her hand automatically goes to the talisman still attached around her neck. It's only then that a solution comes to Josie. She makes her way through the crowd of students to find the person she's looking for. Penelope is surrounded by witches when Josie finally gets to her. As soon as their eyes meet, Penelope's face softens.

 

"Josie, how are you holding up?"

 

"No time for that. I need your help." Josie quickly says.

 

"My help? I did everything I could. I can't feel her Jojo, I'm sorry." Penelope's face is full of pain, and Josie's grateful for her ex's thoughtful answer.

 

"You can still help me. I need you to help me perform a spell. Hope showed it to me a couple of months ago. I just hope I'll be able to do it."

 

Penelope crosses her arms. "You're gonna siphon from me?" she asks.

 

"Please Penelope..." Josie pleads. "I know you hate how it makes you feel, but you're the only one I know will be able to take it and actually help me perform the spell."

 

Penelope groans and rolls her eyes. "You know I can't say no to you, that's not fair." She uncrosses her arms. "What do you need me to do?"

 

"Take my hands and repeat after me."

 

Josie offers her hands to Penelope who only hesitates a second before taking them in hers. As soon as their hands are clasped together, Josie closes her eyes and quietly says the spell. The second time she says it, she can hear Penelope say it too. Josie thinks about Hope, and she hopes it'll be enough to get to her. She thinks about her smile, her laugh, her gentle blue eyes and the way her arms wrap around her at night. At first, Josie thinks it's not working, but soon enough she find herself standing in a dirty cell. She can see Hope sitting on the floor, chained to a wall. The tribrid is covered in dirt and blood, and Josie hopes hard that it's not her own. Hope is holding her knees to her chest, her head leaning on her knees, and she's crying. She hasn't noticed Josie yet. Josie wants to reach her, but she knows that she doesn't have a lot of time. She looks around to find some kind of clue about their location. When she sees a very familiar family crest on one of the walls, Josie knows she has what she had been looking for. Before going back to her real self, Josie use her last moment to say something to the crying tribrid.

 

"We're coming Hope."

 

She sees Hope straighten her head, but she's soon yanked back to reality. The spell took so much of Josie and Penelope's energy that both girls fall to the ground as soon as it's over.

 

"What the hell is going on here?" Alaric asks angrily, as he gets to his knees near them.

 

"I know where she is." Josie says instead of answering him.

 

His eyes grow wide. "Josie what was that..."

 

Josie pushes him away. "You can ground me later. Hope's in danger and we need to get to her."

 

It only takes a second of description for Dorian to identify the family crest. It was the Lockwood's. It didn't make any sense, the Lockwood family was extinct. Who would keep Hope in their cellar and why? Alaric goes to his car with Dorian, Josie and Lizzie follow them.

 

"You're not coming." Alaric turns around and tells them.

 

"Yes, we are." Josie says, determination clear on her face.

 

"No, Josie it's dangerous. We don't even know what we're gonna walk into."

 

"Even more reasons to bring reinforcement." Rafael says.

 

Josie turns sharply to look at him, she hadn't even realized that he was following them, and that he wasn't alone. Behind them were standing Rafael, MG and Penelope.

 

"Yeah, Avengers stick together. That's how they win." MG says with a nod.

 

"Hope's been a decent person recently, we can't let her be murdered." Penelope says with a shrug.

 

Alaric sighs in defeat. "Fine, let's go."

 

They all squeeze themselves in his car. Josie's way too worried for Hope to notice how uncomfortable their positions are. Some of them are talking, but Josie's not listening. She's thinking back to Hope's hunched form. The blood soaking her clothes, the dirt covering her and the chains restraining her. Josie only realizes that she's crying when a soft thumb wipes her tears away.

 

"We'll find her, I promise." Penelope softly says.

 

Without thinking too much about it, Josie reaches for her ex's hand. Penelope allows the touch, even squeezes Josie's hand to reassure her. For a second, Josie allows herself to think that it's a shame that their friendship died the same day their relationship did. Penelope had been a wonderful friend before she was anything else. The moment is soon over when Alaric's car comes to a stop. He turns off the engine and look back at his passengers.

 

"We're there."

 

Everyone quickly gets out of the car, even though it's kind of messy since they were all squeezed in the car. Alaric regroups everyone and starts to explain the plan. Josie tries to listen, she really does, but her father is taking so much time to explain and Hope is hurt and all alone. So Josie decides to be careless and impulsive and just starts to run towards the cellar's entrance. She hears them call her name, but she doesn't stop. She slows her steps once she's inside, taking the time to look in every room. When her eyes finally land on Hope's form, she's so relieved that she runs to her as fast as she can. Hope's head snaps up, the surprise evident on her face. Josie falls to her knees in front of the auburn haired girl and immediately engulfs her in a tight embrace.

 

"Josie? A-are you really here?" Hope asks, her voice so small that Josie has a hard time understing her.

 

"Yes, yes I'm here." Josie says.

 

"Earlier, I-I thought... but you weren't here." Then Hope's tone of voice changes from relief to panic. "No! No, no, no... you can't be here. It's dangerous, she's gonna hurt you."

 

Alaric, Dorian and the others walk into the room just as Hope is saying her last sentence. Josie doesn't let them distract her.

 

"Who? Who did that to you?"

 

"It would be me." A feminine voice says behind them.

 

The girl is holding them at gunpoint. She must be their age, or around it. The girl has short black hair, tan skin and dark brown eyes. Her face is cold, devoid of emotions. MG is about to make a move when she talks again.

 

"I wouldn't do anything if I were you. I have enough vervain in my pockets to burn your pretty little face off vampire boy." Then the girl turn to the others. "This room was compelled by a friend of mine, witches can't use their powers here. And you woflie, I know all of your tricks. I'm a werewolf too."

 

Everyone stops their movements, not sure what to do with those informations. All their attention turn to Hope when they hear the chains cackling. With an obvious effort, Hope is slowly getting up. She looks the girl straight in the eyes with fury written all over her face.

 

"You can do whatever you want with me, but don't you dare touch them."

 

"You stupid, arrogant brat. Do you really think you're in a position to threaten me? I could kill all of them in a second and make you watch. None of your tricks work here. You're defenseless."

 

Hope pulls on her restraints with the intention of ending this there. But soon, she's on the ground clutching her head with both hands and screaming in pain. A boy walks into the room and stops at the girl's side. Josie's eyes are wide and the tears are falling freely on her cheeks. Watching Hope suffer like this brings an unknown anger to her. She gets up from the ground and walks to stand right in front of the duo.

 

"Stop it! Just stop it, please!" Josie pleads.

 

The girl cracks a smile. "I guess she's a friend of yours? That's unfortunate for you."

 

The girl nods to the boy. He mutters another spell, and Hope screams again.

 

"I said stop!" Without realizing what she's doing, Josie siphon's some magic from the ground and mutters a spell of her own using the magic keeping them from doing magic.

 

The spell works perfectly, and sends the two teenagers flying out of the room. The girl groans and gets up with difficulty, but the boy lays unconscious on the ground.

 

"How did you do that?" The girl winces.

 

"Don't get any closer." Josie threatens her arm up to cast another spell if she needs to. "MG and Raf get Hope to the car. Dad and Dorian deal with those two however you want."

 

Everyone does as they're told, not questionning Josie. Josie's hand up is a silent threat, so the tan skinned girl doesn't move. As everyone slowly leaves the room, only Josie, Dorian and Alaric are left with the two unknown teenagers.

 

"Who are you?" Alaric questions.

 

The girl lifts her chin. "My name is Alicia Lockwood."

 

Alaric is taken aback. Josie's eyes widen in surprise.

 

"You said the Lockwood family was extinct." Josie says to Dorian.

 

"They are." He says with a frown.

 

The girl looks unpleased. "No we're not!"

 

"The Lockwood family went extinct when Tyler Lockwood died."

 

"Except that Richard Lockwood had a bastard daughter aka my mom." She spits.

 

Alaric and Josie looks to Dorian to know if the girl is saying the thruth. Dorian opens his mouth and closes it. He has no idea if Alicia is telling the thruth. Alaric decides to ask another question.

 

"Why did you target Hope?"

 

"Her father did a lot of bad things to my family. I'm only looking for justice. Klaus Mikaelson is one of the reasons why this family is practically extinct."

 

Josie feels the need to defend Hope. "Hope has nothing to do with that. She wasn't even born."

 

Alicia turns her attention to Josie, smirking at her. "I was wrong before, she's not just your friend right? You're sleeping with her or something?"

 

Josie's eyes grow wide and she can feel the blush covering her cheeks. She opens her mouth to speak but her father is quicker than her.

 

"I don't want to hear the answer to that question. Let's get back to school."

 

"What are you gonna do with Lucas and I?" Alicia asks, suddenly less confident than before.

 

"We're gonna bring you back to school for now." Alaric sighs.

 

Josie sharply turns to him. "What? Dad they..."

 

Alaric cuts her off. "I know what they did. I said we're bringing them back to school." He turns to Alicia. "You're a werewolf, right?" She nods. "Good, you can carry your friend upstairs." He turns to Josie. "Don't let them escape, alright?"

 

"They're not going anywhere." Josie says.

 

 

They all get out of the cellar to find a car pulling close to the cellar's entrance. Lizzie is quick to explain.

 

"I called Emma, we couldn't all fit in your car dad."

 

"Good idea, Lizzie." He says with a smile.

 

Josie's attention leaves Alicia and Lucas for a second to see where Hope was. The tribrid was leaning on Alaric's car, clearly still in pain. She looked better than before though, her super healing in action. Emma gets out of her car and walks to them. She goes straight to Hope's side, checking the girl for injuries.

 

"Okay, here's the plan : MG, Lizzie, Hope and Rafael, you go with Emma. Josie, Penelope, Dorian, Alicia and Lucas, you're with me."

 

"Wait, Alaric, who are these teenagers?" Emma asks, confused.

 

"I'll explain everything back at school, okay?" Alaric gently says.

 

Emma nods, and after that everyone gets in motion. They all follow Alaric's plan, everyone but Hope. The tribrid walks to Josie with difficulty, but without any help. She looks weak, but not in pain which makes Josie's worry lessen. She walks the few steps separating them and put her hands on Hope's waist to make sure the girl stays on her feet.

 

"Hey you..." Josie whispers with a small smile. "You're supposed to go with Emma."

 

Hope shakes her head. "There's no way I'm leaving you with them."

 

"I think I can defend myself just fine Hope."

 

"But..."

 

"You're in no position to be protective right now. Just let us take care of you for once!"

 

Josie's outburst takes Hope by surprise, and Josie's almost certain she sees her eyes turn gold for a fraction of second. Josie takes a deep breath and squeeze Hope's waist. She gives the tribrid her most reassuring smile.

 

"I siphoned a lot of magic from the spell that was keeping you from doing magic. I should be fine, and if I'm not, well Penelope will be there."

 

"Fine." Hope says, visibly unconvinced.

 

Josie's hands leave Hope's waist, she lifts them to carress Hope's cheeks softly. Hope instantly leans into the touch and closes her eyes. Neither of them caring about the stares they are attracting, just lost in each other. Josie leans closer, and for a moment she considers kissing Hope, but it doesn't feel right. There's too much distress and pain between them. So Josie does her best to give Hope comfort in another way. She kisses Hope's temple and leaves her lips there for a moment. Then she brings them lower, so they're brushing Hope's ear.

 

"You're safe Hope, and I am too. Just trust me on this."

 

She's about to let go of Hope, but the tribrid's hands grips her waist and keep her close. Hope angles her head so her lips could be near Josie's ear.

 

"The necklace, Josie. It has magic too, if you ever need it..."

 

Then Hope pulls away, she gives Josie a weak smile before walking back to Emma's car. She doesn't get far before Rafael comes to help her to the car. Josie watches her until she's safely sitting in Emma's car. She sees the door closing, and ears the car's engine start, but her eyes doesn't leave the car. It's only when she feels a hand on her shoulder that Josie's attention shifts. She flinches and brushes the hand away.

 

"It's just me sweetie." Alaric softly says.

 

Josie's eyes are wide and alert. She's quick to shake her panic and regain her calm, she repeats to herself that it's only her father. Someone who would never hurt her.

 

"Guess I was wrong before. You're not only sleeping with her, you're actually in love with the devil's daughter." Alicia says, disgust in her voice.

 

Josie turns to her, the anger written on her face is enough to make anyone tremble with fear.

 

"If you say another word, I'll kill you. Did I make myself clear?"

 

Alicia smirk. "Clear as day, princess. Oups, I wasn't supposed to answer, right?"

 

The smirk still plastered on Alicia's face making it clear that the girl was trying to get a reaction out of Josie. It works perfectly, because Josie immediately tries to get to Alicia but Alaric holds her back.

 

"Enough Josie. We're going back to school now."

 

Josie glares at Alicia but doesn't say another word. Emma's car has disapeared, already on it's way back to school. Soon, the gang in Alaric's car is on their way to school too. The car ride is silent. Josie sits in the back with Alicia and Lucas, to make sure they're not going anywhere. She can see Penelope stealing worried glances at her now and then. One time, Josie forces herself to give her ex a comforting smile. It makes Penelope relax, and maybe even blush. Alicia sees it all unfolds and a snarky comment makes its way to her mind, but she keeps it to herself. As soon as they get to school, Alicia is brought to a werewolf holding cell. Lucas is brought to the infirmary, to check if his injuries are serious. As soon as she knows that there's no danger anymore. Josie goes straight to Hope's room, but she finds it empty. There's sublte signs that Hope came into her room. Her dirty clothes laying on the floor, dirt here and there, her clothes drawer is open.

 

"Hey." Josie hears from behind her.

 

Josie turns around to see Hope standing there. She still looks tired, but there's no signs of injuries on her. No more blood, no more dirt. She's as beautiful as ever, her hair damp from the shower she just took. Josie doesn't hesitate to pull Hope in a tight embrace, and it doesn't take long for the tribrid to reciprocate. Josie's eyes are full of tears, but they're from relief. Relief of still being able to hold Hope in her arms, relief that she's safe.

 

"I was so scared." Josie says in Hope's ear.

 

"I was scared too." Hope breaths out. "I didn't want to die without being able to do this."

 

Hope pulls away for a second and looks Josie in the eyes. She seems to find what she's looking for, because a second later she leans in and kisses Josie passionately. Josie is surprised, but soon recovers from it. She reciprocates the kiss with as much tenderness as she can. It's their first kiss, and normaly it should be shy and chaste. But this kiss is full of urgency and heat. It almost makes Josie's head spin. Soon, Hope pushes Josie until she has her pinned against the door. They kiss again and again. Sometimes they say some words between kisses, but it's fast and rushed. When the heat becomes too much, Josie decides that it's time to stop.

 

"Hope..." Josie says weakly. "Hope, please. We have to stop."

 

Josie's words make Hope come to a stop as soon as she hears them. Her deep blue eyes are full of worry and guilt.

 

"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it too." Hope mutters while pulling away.

 

Josie is quick to catch Hope's sweater and to pull her close again. She pecks Hope's lips quickly before speaking again.

 

"I do want it, but we need to take it slow. We just had a really stressful night, maybe now's not the best time to take that kind of decision. Don't you think?"

 

Hope thinks for a moment. "You're right. It's so late, and I'm exhausted." Hope says in a sigh.

 

"Let's get to bed then." Josie says with a sweet smile.

 

Hope smiles at her before she nods and makes her way to the bed. She settles under the covers and sighs in comfort. She hears Josie open a drawer, and Hope knows that Josie's taking a shirt to sleep in. It doesn't take long for the brunette to get under the blankets after that. Neither of them say a thing, but when Hope turns her back to Josie, it feels like a silent invitation to spoon her. Josie takes the invitation with joy. When her arm circles Hope's waist, she can feel the tension leaving the tribrid's body. Josie places a soft kiss to Hope's shoulder and whispers her goodnight, but Hope is already asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Hope you liked this one, tell me about it in the comments!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> I'm really sorry about the wait. I had some problems with my wifi and couldn't get the chapter out. I'll get the next one out sooner to make up for it. 
> 
> So I just want to tell you that this is sort of a filler chapter? There's lots of fluff and talking.

It's the middle of the night when Josie wakes up to a cold bed. As she wakes up, she's surprised that she's not still holding Hope in her arms. Then she touches the space where the tribrid should be, but she feels nothing. That's when she realizes that Hope's not in bed. Josie quickly sits up in bed and opens the bedside light. With her left hand, she rubs her eyes to try and get rid of the sleep. Then she looks around Hope's room, but the auburn haired girl is nowhere in sight. A quiet panic slowly takes place in Josie's mind. They had brought Hope home the night before, she couldn't have gotten kidnapped again. Josie gets up from the bed and quickly puts her shoes on, she doesn't even take the time to change out of her pajamas. The only thing she's able to think about is Hope.

 

When Josie gets to the werewolf cells, she quickly spots the one holding Alicia. She's surprised to see the girl is not sleeping. She's sitting on the bed and Josie can't help but think that she looks lost. Though, the thought is quickly replaced with worry and anger.

 

"Where is Hope?" Josie demands.

 

"Hello princess, cute pjs." Alicia says with a smirk.

 

Josie blushes, but quickly recovers. "Stop calling me that, and answer my question."

 

Alicia scrunches her nose, faking deep thoughts. "No, I like the nickname. It suits you. As for your question, I don't know. She could be in hell for all I care."

 

Josie tries to control her growing anger, but it gets hard. "Stop playing around! What did you do to her?"

 

Alicia chuckles and gets up from the bed. She slowly walks closer to Josie.

 

"Look, you're really cute when you get mad, but you don't need to. I don't know where the tribrid bitch is."

 

"Don't call her that." Josie hisses. "You don't even know her."

 

"I don't need to, and I surely don't want to. She's the daughter of the most evil man that ever lived. I wonder how she got you to fall for her, you seem like such a good girl." Alicia says with her signature smirk.

 

"She's not like you paint her to be. She's more good than you'll ever be."

 

"Josie, sweetie, what are you doing here?"

 

Josie quickly turns around to see her father walking quickly in her direction. Her eyes immediately widen when she spots a tired looking Hope just behind him. Hope was still in the pajamas she had worn when they went to bed, and her hair was pulled in a lose ponytail. Hope's worried expression matched Josie's father's. The tribrid quickly walks to Josie and pulls her a little far away from the cell, while giving a quick glare to Alicia. The dark haired girl only smirks.

 

"Josie, why did you come here?" Hope says barely above a whisper.

 

"What?" Josie says with disbelief. "You weren't in bed when I woke up, so I got worried! I thought... I thought something had happened again."

 

"Oh..." Hope lets out. "I didn't think -"

 

"Please don't say you didn't think I'd worry, or that I'd notice. You disapeared yesterday Hope! I found you covered in dirt and blood. Of course, my brain immediately thought of the worst case scenario when I woke up to an empty bed!"

 

Somewhere during Josie's speech, her voice had gone from a whisper to yelling. Alaric and Alicia's attentions were on them, but neither of the girls noticed. Josie was too angry and Hope a bit too stunned.

 

"Why did you leave, Hope? Why didn't you wake me up?"

 

"I woke up about an hour after we fell asleep." Hope says, a bit embarrassed. "I was restless, I couldn't sleep anymore. So I went out on a run and your father decided to accompany me in the woods, just in case. I didn't wake you up because you seemed so peaceful, I couldn't bother you."

 

"Well don't do that again." Josie says, but most of her anger is gone. "Promise you'll wake me up next time, okay?"

 

Hope smiles softly. "I promise."

 

"Aren't they cute?" Alicia says.

 

Hope's smile drops and she focuses her attention on the dark haired girl. Josie can see the fire in her eyes. The witch has a hard time recognizing Hope. She can't understand how the sweet girl who cuddles her every night has such rage and anger in her eyes. She pushes those thoughts aside and grabs Hope's hand in hope to get her attention.

 

"Hope... hey, look at me." Josie whispers.

 

From the corner of her eyes, Josie can see Alicia's defying smile. Hope is still not looking at her, the fire in her eyes not even wavering. Josie's hands go from Hope's hands to her face. As soon as they make contact with the soft skin of Hope's cheeks, Hope blinks a couple of times. When Hope's eyes finally make contact with Josie's, the younger girl gives her a comforting smile.

 

"Let's get back to your room, okay?"

 

Hope just nods after a couple of seconds. She glances at Alicia, but the fire doesn't go back to her eyes, and Josie feels relief washing over her. Josie looks at her father and he gives her a tight-lipped smile. They don't say anything as Josie gently pulls Hope out of the room. They silently walk in the hallways in the direction of Hope's room. As soon as they're safely arrived in Hope's room, Josie gets rid of her shoes and goes straight for the bed, but Hope doesn't follow her. Josie's about to ask her why she's not coming to bed, but when she's met with Hope's tortured blue eyes, Josie stops herself. She allows Hope to take all the time she needs to talk. Hope doesn't move, she stays standing in the middle of the room, trying to get control over her emotions.

 

"I hate that you saw me like that." Hope quietly says.

 

Josie's composure falls and she feels the pain in Hope's words. "Hope -"

 

"No. Please, just let me talk." Hope says, her eyes pleading Josie. "I'm not good, Josie. I mean, I'm not bad either, I'm both. I inherited the good and the bad from my family. I try my hardest to be good, but sometimes... sometimes the bad just comes out. You... you need to understand that if we want to... you know."

 

The faint blush covering Hope's cheeks makes Josie smile. She stands from the bed and cautiously walks to stand in front of Hope. She takes both of Hope's hands in hers and brings them to her lips to kiss them softly. Hope takes it as a silent sign for her to continue her speech.

 

"You helped me find my way back to the good side earlier. As soon as you touched my cheeks, it's like I knew that I had to control that side of me, because you were there. I want to be worthy of you, in any way you'll want me." The soft confession makes Josie's heart skip a beat, but she forces herself not to say a word, allowing Hope to say whatever she had left to say. "I don't ever want you to see me as a monster, because you always see the best in everyone and if you see me as a monster then it means that I really am one."

 

Josie's eyes widen, and now she can't keep her mouth shut anymore.

 

"No. Don't ever say that again. You are not a monster Hope Mikaelson." At this point, both girls were holding back tears. Hope was barely able to look Josie in the eyes. "You're just a teenager, just like me. The bad side you were talking about, well it's in all of us. In some people it's just more obvious than in others. Remember that day I set Penelope on fire? Well that was my bad side. I don't have violent outbursts like Lizzie, but I still have a side of me that's filled with anger, and deception."

 

Hope releases a shaky breath. "Sometimes it feels like the world is working against me. Like I was never meant to live."

 

"Then we'll show the world that it's wrong, because you're one of the most beautiful thing in my world."

 

As the tears start spilling from Hope's eyes, she snakes her arms around Josie's waist and pulls her closer. Josie leans her forehead on Hope's and they stay in that position for a while. Neither could say who pulled away first, but when they did it was only to go and cuddle even closer in bed. Josie's spooning Hope, but the tribrid soon turns around to face the witch.

 

"I don't want to lose you." Hope whispers.

 

"You won't." Josie whispers back.

 

Hope sighs, happy to be in Josie's arms. "Tell me something about yourself. Something I don't know."

 

Josie chuckles. "Now?"

 

"Yeah, your voice is soothing."

 

Josie rubs Hope's back slowly as she thinks of something to tell the older girl.

 

"When I was like twelve, I realized I wasn't straight." Josie starts.

 

Then she goes and tell Hope about her first crushes on girls and even how she fell in love with Penelope. Josie hesitates to tell Hope what she really wants to tell her and Hope quickly catches on.

 

"Whatever you're holding back, you can say it." Hope says with a teasing smile. "I won't laugh... that much."

 

Josie rolls her eyes. "Well, if you really want to know... You were my first crush, like ever. Lizzie was talking for years about how boys were so great and handsome, and honestly I couldn't relate. Sure I thought they looked great, but it took me so much time to actually have a crush on a boy. But one day, after a visit from your mom you actually smiled back at me and I understood what Lizzie was referring to when she talked about butterflies." Josie sees the disbelief on Hope's face and it makes her chuckle. "Is it so hard to believe?"

 

"You having a crush on me when we were young? Kind of yeah. I was so cold to you, mean even."

 

"You were never mean to me. You poked, like all the time, but you weren't mean. You were to Lizzie sometimes though."

 

Hope sighs. "I know. I should probably apologize to her."

 

Josie's eyes softens. "I'm sure she'd appreciate it. I think she's starting to actually like you a little."

 

"I'll do it then." Hope smiles. "Tell me, how did that crush die?"

 

Josie's eyes fliker to Hope's lips for a moment. "It never really did." She whispers as she looks back in Hope's eyes.

 

In that moment, Hope allows herself to just lean in and kiss Josie. It's chaste, but Hope's lips are firmly pressed against Josie's. She pulls away way too quickly for Josie's liking who just chases Hope's lips. When their lips connect again, Josie's are most insistent. The kiss is slow, passionate and full of purpose.

 

"We should really sleep now." Josie whispers, her lips still brushing Hope's.

 

Hope hums and buries her head in Josie's neck, inhaling her scent deeply. Josie leaves a soft kiss on Hope's temple before drifting off to sleep.

 

*

 

In the morning, the girls are brutally woken up by Hope's phone ringing. Hope untangles herself from Josie with as much care as she can when she's that sleepy.

 

"Hello." Hope says sleepily

 

"Hope? Were you still sleeping? It's nearly noon!"

 

"Aunt Freya... uh hi. Is it that late?" Hope glances at Josie who was slowly sitting up next to her. "I had a rough night."

 

Josie can't help but scoffs at Hope's choice of words.

 

"Did I hear someone else? Hope Mikaelson, is there someone in bed with you?"

 

Josie's hand shot up to cover her mouth, her eyes wide. It surprises the witch, when all Hope does is smirk at her.

 

"Yes Freya, there's someone with me."

 

Hope chuckles when Josie's eyes grow impossibly bigger.

 

"We need the boy's name Hope!" Hope hears Keelin say.

 

Hope archs a brow as a silent question to Josie. Was she allowed to tell her family about Josie, or was it too soon? She's soon reassured when Josie gives her a shy nod.

 

"Her name is Josie."

 

There's no answer other than Keelin's distant laughter. Hope's smile turns into a little laugh that she shares with Josie.

 

"I think you just broke your aunt kid." Keelin says. "Look, she was actually calling to tell you we're all coming to see you. We should be there in two days."

 

Hope frowns. "What do you mean you're all coming?"

 

"I mean the whole family."

 

"Why?"

 

"You can't be serious right now." Keelin says.

 

Hope's frown deepens. "Keelin, what are you talking about?"

 

"Your birthday is in three days Hope!"

 

Realization dawns on Hope. With everything that had happened to them recently, her birthday was far from a priority.

 

"Anyway, we have to go. See you in two days kiddo."

 

Hope stares at her phone after Keelin hangs up on her. Josie's hand on her thigh is what shakes Hope out of her mind.

 

"Why didn't you tell me your birthday was coming?"

 

"I actually didn't really think about it. With everything that's happening to us, my birthday seems so...pointless."

 

Josie gives Hope a smile. "Bithdays are my favorite. Do you allow me to throw you a party? Don't worry it'll be small, just our friends and your family."

 

Hope shrugs, but deep down she's happier than she's ever been. "If you want to."

 

Josie's smile changes into a grin. "It will be so great!"

 

Hope smiles at how excited Josie is, but then a thought crosses her mind.

 

"We have to tell your father that my family is coming. I'm pretty sure he won't be happy."

 

Josie thinks for a second. "Let me handle it." She says before kissing Hope's cheek and getting up from the bed. "Do you mind if I borrow some clothes?"

 

"No, just take whatever you want."

 

Hope gets up and walk to the bathroom to brush her teeth and leave the room for Josie to change herself. When Hope gets out of the bathroom, Josie is dressed. She's wearing one of Hope's 'I heart New Orleans' sweater and sweat pants.

 

Hope wears a smug smile. "Are you trying to make a statement Miss Saltzman?"

 

Josie smirks. "Maybe." She teases. "Would you mind?"

 

Hope shakes her head with a light chuckle. "Absolutely not."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Really sorry if this chapter was deceiving. I know you've been waiting a while for this one and nothing really happens. BUT next chapter will really bring the story in a new direction. And Hope's family will be there!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I know I said I'd get this chapter out sooner but life got in the way. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, because the story is finally going where I want it to. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The word spread like fire around school when Josie walked around in Hope's clothes. Rumours about them hooking up or dating, it depends on who you're asking. In the two days separating the day Josie wore Hope's clothes and the arrival of the Mikaelsons, they don't see Penelope much. As soon as they walk into a room, Penelope leaves it. It looks like the girl can't handle seeing them together. Hope feels a little bad about it, but she tells herself there's not much she can do. The tribrid also sees how it affects Josie, and it makes her hope that Penelope will eventually come around. They don't label their relationship yet, but they kiss whenever they are alone. Sometimes it's hot and passionate, other time it's slow and sensual and then it can also be tender and full of meaning. They don't talk about what it means, Josie hopes they will soon, she's never been good at holding her feelings in, but respecting Hope's boundaries is very important to her.

 

Hope and Josie are walking to Hope's room when Hope spots a familiar blonde woman standing by her door with Alaric. The two adults are in deep conversation but stop abruptly when Alaric spots the girls. Hope's about to ask what's up, but when she's pulled in a tight embrace from Freya she feels herself forgetting instantly.

 

"I missed you so much." Freya says barely above a whisper.

 

Happy tears make their way to Hope's eyes and she buries her head in Freya's neck.

 

"I missed you too."

 

They stay in each other's arms for a good moment, just enjoying each other's presence. After a moment, Freya looks up and sees Josie quietly talking with her father. She pulls away from Hope and gives her a teasing smile.

 

"Is she the girlfriend?"

 

Alaric's eyes widen. "Girlfriend?"

 

Hope feels the blush covering her cheeks. "Josie's n-"

 

"I'm Josie." The brunette says with a bright smile, extending her hand for Freya to shake.

 

Freya take the offered hand and looks curiosly at Josie.The brunette doesn't falter under Freya's intense gaze, and Hope is proud of her for it. Being scrutinized by Freya Mikaelson can't be easy.

 

"Will you be joining us for dinner tomorrow night?" Freya asks with a smile.

 

Hope jumps in before Josie can say anything. "Actually, Josie's throwing me a little party here tomorrow. We were wondering if you'd all come." Hope smiles. "If you prefer not, we can maybe grab lunch together."

 

At first Freya is surprised, but soon enough she's smiling widely. "Sounds lovely. I'm sure the others will love to join."

 

At this moment, Alaric's phone rings and he excuses himself.

 

"Where is everyone?" Hope asks, surprised that her aunt is alone.

 

"Rebekah and Marcel are looking around the school with Lizzie Saltzman, and Kol and Davina are not here yet."

 

"What about Keelin?" Hope asks with a frown.

 

"Here." Keelin says from behind them.

 

Hope quickly turns around and goes right in for a hug. Keelin's hold on her is strong and loving, just as she remembered it.

 

"Damn kid, she's cute." Keelin whispers in Hope's ear.

 

When they pull apart, Hope wears a deep blush as she bites her lip and playfully rolls her eyes.

 

"I know, right?" Hope says, causing Keelin to laugh. "Let's get into my room, okay? I have some things to show you."

 

Keelin and Freya both smile and nod, immediately moving to get inside Hope's room. Josie stays behind, hesitant.

 

"I'll... uh I'll leave you with your family. You surely have some catching up to do."

 

Hope frowns, confused by Josie's sudden lack in confidence. Then she turns to her aunt and her wife and smiles softly.

 

"Go ahead, I'll be right in."

 

She receives suspicious glances from both women but they say nothing before going inside the room. As soon as the door closes, Hope walks to get closer to Josie. She takes Josie's hands in hers and intertwine their fingers.

 

"What's wrong Jo?" Hope says quietly.

 

"Nothing!" Josie's voice is so high pitched that Hope barely recognizes it.

 

"You're lying..." Hope says softly. "And you're doing a terrible job at it by the way."

 

Josie's eyes grow wide. "I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean -"

 

"It's fine, but you have no reason to lie to me. Just tell me what's wrong. Is it because Freya called you my girlfriend?"

 

"No." Josie says firmly. "I... I didn't mind that at all. I just didn't want to, you know, intrude on your time with your family. I feel like maybe I kinda forced your hand with the party for your birthday. I'm sure you would have preferred to spend time with your family and..."

 

Hope's chuckle makes Josie stop her rambling. The witch blushes and looks at the ground. When Hope realizes that Josie is embarrassed, she quickly stops chuckling. She regains her seriousness and get closer to Josie. With one hand Hope gently lifts Josie's chin to look her in the eyes.

 

"I want you there with me. I don't want to be apart from you if we don't have to be. And honestly, I'm kinda excited about the birthday party. It'll be a first for me."

 

"Oh..." Josie breathes with a shy little smile.

 

Hope smiles too before leaning in and kissing Josie briefly. She feels Josie's hands settling on her waist, and soon feels Josie's forehead onto hers. When Hope looks up, she sees Josie's eyes are closed and the most beautiful smile stretches the brunette's lips.

 

"Jo, would you be my girlfriend? Like officially." Hope whispers.

 

Josie laughs quietly. "Did you add the 'officially' because we've been basically dating for two days?"

 

Hope blushes. "I guess." She frowns. "You didn't answer my question."

 

"Of course, I wanna be your girlfriend." Josie says before pecking Hope's lips. "Wasn't it obvious when I wore your sweater around school?"

 

Hope smiles. "You look good in my clothes."

 

"Then maybe I'll wear them more often." Josie's smile reaches her eyes. "Let's join your aunts, okay?"

 

Hope's smiles softens and she nods. They both move to go into Hope's room, but Alaric's voice stop them.

 

"Josie! I need you to come with me." He says with a smile.

 

Josie frowns. "Why?"

 

"Your mother's home."

 

Josie's frown deepens."Again? It's been like two weeks since she left."

 

Josie's confused by the sudden return of her mother. She loved her mother and spending time with her, but she knew that something was definitely wrong if Caroline was back already. Before Alaric can answer, Josie squeezes Hope's hand and look at her.

 

"I'll catch up with you later?" Josie softly asks Hope.

 

Hope looks worried. "Is everything okay? You seem weird."

 

Josie bites her lip, she doesn't want to lie to Hope but she doesn't want to let her know how worried she is.

 

"We'll talk later, okay? I'll tell you everything."

 

The worry doesn't leave Hope's face, so Josie gets closer to her and she barely remembers that her father is watching them when she kisses Hope's lips slowly. Hope doesn't seem to remember he's there either because she melts into the kiss. Hope's hand comes to rest on Josie's cheek and she carress it softly. When Alaric clears his throat they jump apart. They're both equally embarrassed, but not as much as Alaric is. They whisper a last goodbye before Josie follows her father out of Hope's sight. It's only then that Hope goes inside her room.

 

*****

 

When Josie comes into Hope's room later that night, the tribrid knows something is wrong. Josie had her worried pout on instead of a smile. Hope got up from her bed and walked to Josie with a worried frown.

 

"Josie, what's wrong?"

 

Josie finally looks at Hope, almost as if she had forgotten the girl would be there.

 

"I... I don't know." Josie sighs. "My parents are acting so weird. They barely spent time with Lizzie and I. They've been locked up in their office for hours. They made a witch put a silencing spell on the room and told us we'd be in trouble if we siphoned it. It's freaking Lizzie and I out. I think something bad is going on."

 

Hope pulled Josie into her arms, holding her girlfriend as tight as she could without breaking any bone. Josie sighs and buries her head in the crook of Hope's neck to seek more comfort.

 

"I'm sure they'll tell you soon. Just give them some time." Hope whispers softly before kissing Josie's head.

 

Josie pulls away but still stays in Hope's embrace. "Do you think it could have something to do with Alicia and Lucas?"

 

Hope growls a little as she hears the names coming out of Josie's mouth.

 

"Please don't say their names, I had almost forgotten they were still around." Hope says.

 

Josie chuckles but it dies so soon that the sound can't even bring a smile to Hope's lips. Hope's right hand leaves Josie's hip to softly carress the witch's cheek.

 

"Hey..." Hope softly says. "Look at me." It takes a moment for Josie to finally meet Hope's eyes. "Whatever is happening, we'll find out and fix it. I'd never let anything hurt you."

 

That gets a small smile out of Josie. "I know that. You were protective even when we weren't exactly friends."

 

Hope chuckles and pulls Josie closer until their noses are brushing. "Are you complaining?"

 

"How could I be?" Josie whispers before closing the gap separating them

 

Hope's hands slowly move to tangle in Josie's hair. Hope loves the softness of her girlfriend's hair. She loves the soft waves of Josie's hair. Hope feels the way Josie's trying to push her towards the bed and she willingly lets her. It doesn't take long before Hope is sitting on the bed with Josie stradling her. They've kissed before, but somehow it never felt like it did now. Hope's hands were on Josie's bare thighs – thanks to Josie's skirt – and one of Josie's hand is resting on Hope's shoulder while the other is tangled in her hair. Hope feel hot and she knows that it has everything to do with the girl she's kissing. When Josie stops touching her, Hope immediately feels disappointed. It takes a moment for the tribrid to understand that Josie was receiving a call. She sees Josie take a moment to compose herself before answering the call and Hope can't help but feel proud that she got Josie all hot and bothered. The only part of Josie's conversation that makes its way to Hope's brain is when Josie says she's leaving.

 

"You're leaving." Hope says with a confused frown.

 

"Lizzie asked me to sleep in our room. She's having a hard time dealing with what's happening."

 

Hope gives her a forced smile. "Of course."

 

"I thought, maybe you could come with me?" Josie says. "We could share my bed."

 

"Really?" Hope says, a smile immediately appearing on her face.

 

"I want to wake up next to you tomorrow morning. I want to be the first to wish you a happy birthday."

 

"It's a plan then." Hope smiles.

 

*****

 

They spend hours trying to get Lizzie to calm down. It's the first time Hope witnesses one of Lizzie's moments, she realizes how wrong she had been about the blonde twin. Another thing Hope realized was how strong Josie actually was. The brunette supported her blonde twin through every second, through every emotion. Hope felt a little out of place, but when Lizzie finally fell asleep and Josie let herself sink into Hope's arms, the tribrid understood her purpose. Maybe she couldn't help Lizzie, but she could help Josie. If Lizzie had Josie, then Josie had to have someone too. So that's what Hope did, she held Josie until the witch fell asleep. It didn't take long since the emotions of the night left Josie drained of all her energy.

 

In the morning, Hope is the first to wake up. Josie's soft snores make Hope smile fondly. She tightens her hold on Josie and kisses her forehead.

 

"She's lucky to have you."

 

Hope jumps a little when she hears Lizzie's voice, but the words surprises her even more. Hope untangles herself from Josie gently. When she's able to look at Lizzie, she gives her her best disbelieving look. Lizzie rolls her eyes before pushing the covers and getting out of bed.

 

"I won't say it again Mikaelson."

 

"What are you talking about?" Josie asks sleepily.

 

Hope's attention quickly turns to Josie. The brunette's hair is messy and she has the most adorable pout Hope has ever seen.

 

"Good morning Josie." Hope softly says. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

 

Josie gives a look to her twin who only shrugs as an answer. Instead of insisting to get an answer, Josie simply grabs Hope's shirt and tugs her so the tribrid is laying on the bed again.

 

"Happy birthday Hope." Josie says with a smile.

 

Hope's eyes widen, she had almost forgotten her birthday again. Before Hope can answer, Josie turns around in bed and rummages through the drawer of her nightstand. When she faces Hope again, Josie is holding a little red box in her hands.

 

"I wanted to give this to you without everyone around, is that okay?" Josie asks.

 

"Of course, thank you."

 

Josie smiles and hands the box to Hope. Hope takes it with caution, as if she's afraid to break it. She takes a moment to look at the box before finally caving and opening it. Inside the box lays a beautiful bracelet. Hope takes it out with awe written all over her face.

 

"I had your family's vow engraved on the inside of the bracelet." Josie explains.

 

Hope looks for the words and quickly finds the 'Always and Forever'. The tribrid doesn't even try to fight the tears from escaping her eyes. She's so focused on the bracelet that she doesn't realizes the panic slowly seeping through Josie.

 

"I didn't want to upset you. Just give it back and I'll give you something else. This was out of line, I shouldn't have..."

 

During Josie's sentences, Hope realizes the state her girlfriend is in. Before Josie can take the bracelet back, Hope pulls it against her stomach and closes her hand around it tight. With her other arm, Hope pulls Josie close until the brunette's head is resting against her chest.

 

"It's perfect. I love it, thank you so much."

 

"Oh..." Josie says.

 

Then Josie nuzzles herself into Hope's chest, welcoming the comforting embrace.

 

*

 

Later that day, Hope just got ready for the party inside her room when she decides to investigate what is troubling her girlfriend and Lizzie. She goes to Dr. Saltzman's office, but the door opened wide quickly tells Hope that neither of them are there. Hope is quite surprised to find them outside the school, sitting near the lake where Hope and Alaric always train together. The tribrid is careful to not make her presence known. She stays at a good distance, but close enough to hear what they're saying.

 

"I can't believe you didn't find anything." Alaric says with defeat in his voice.

 

"I did find some things. I just didn't find a way to stop it." Caroline softly says. "I think it's time to look into other options Alaric."

 

Alaric gives a hard look to Caroline. "There's no way I'm letting one of my daughters die!"

 

"They're my daughters too Ric." Caroline shouts.

 

Hope decides it's time to let them know she's here, and to find out what the hell is happening. She walks to them and quickly gets their attention.

 

"Hope? Were you eavesdropping on us?"

 

Hope gives her a defying look. "I was. Now I need an explanation."

 

Alaric shakes his head. "It doesn't concern you."

 

"I heard you talking about my girlfriend possibly dying, so it does concern me."

 

Caroline's eyes widen. "Girlfriend? When did that happen?"

 

Hope rolls her eyes. "It doesn't matter now, but it happened yesterday. Now answer my question, or I tell everything I just heard to the twins."

 

The tribrid gets a glare from Alaric but she doesn't back down, Josie's safety was at stake.

 

"Did you ever hear about the Gemini coven?" Hope shakes her head. "It's the coven Josie and Lizzie are from. Actually they are next in line to be the leaders. There's a catch though, the Gemini coven is cursed. When twins are born, just one of them is meant to live past its 22nd birthday. They have to go through a ritual called the Merge. This ritual basically means that one of them has to..."

 

"Siphon the other..." Hope finishes for Caroline. "That's horrible." Then Hope's expression darkens. "You never told the twins." She says through gritted teeth. "How could you? Don't you know how worried they've been since yesterday? Josie had to help Lizzie calm down after that, and then I held Josie as she fell asleep from exhaustion."

 

"Hope, please we have our reasons." Alaric says.

 

"No reasons are good enough!" Hope yells at them. "You have until tonight to tell them, or I will."

 

Hope gives them one last threatening look before turning on her heels and walking toward school with a newfound determination.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! 
> 
> I'm so nervous about this one guys. Hope you'll enjoy this.

Hope's palms are sweaty as she walks to Josie's room. She can't even remember the last time she's been that nervous. It'll be the first time Josie meet her whole family and Hope is keeping a horrible secret from her. Will she even be able to lie to her girlfriend? Hope curses under her breath, she can't believe Alaric and Caroline are keeping that kind of thing from their daughters. The door to the twins' bedroom keeps getting closer and Hope feels a little nauseous. She knocks on the door and immediately it opens. The sight that greets Hope makes her forget all her thoughts. Josie's hair is down and loosely curled, it frames her face beautifully. She's wearing a loose black dress that ends just over her knees. Her make up is light, but it's perfectly applied.

 

"Stop drooling Mikaelson." Lizzie says with a teasing smile.

 

Josie's blushing, but she still throws a glare to her twin. "Be nice, Liz. It's Hope's birthday."

 

"Oh, but I am nice. I could have told her to stop perving on you, but I didn't." Lizzie says before going inside the bathroom.

 

Josie rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry about her."

 

"Don't be, she's right. I think you're beautiful." Hope says softly.

 

"Me? Have you seen yourself? Hope, you're gorgeous!"

 

Before Hope can answer, Josie's lips are on hers. Josie's hands settle on her hips and Hope's goes around the brunette's neck. Josie's leading the kiss, it's slow and tender. She gently takes Hope's bottom lip between hers and sucks lightly before releasing it. The action sends a shiver down Hope's spine. The kiss ends all too soon, but Josie stays close, her lips ghosting Hope's

 

"This red dress is really beautiful on you." Josie whispers. "And did I ever tell you that your hair is perfect? Like always perfect, even when it's messy."

 

Hope laughs and buries her face in the crook of Josie's neck as she moves her arms around Josie's waist.

 

"Stop it."

 

Josie's face impossibly softens at the motion. "I... I really care about you, you know?"

 

Hope freezes, the words catching her off guard. So they were sharing their feelings. That could be problematic. Hope tries to find the words to tell Josie exactly how she feels, but they all move too fast in her head. Hope doesn't realize that she's having a tight hold on Josie's dress until Josie's hands cover hers.

 

"You don't need to say anything. I just needed you to know." Josie says in Hope's ear, loud and clear.

 

Hope nods and puts her forehead on Josie's. She closes her eyes and wishes that she could make Josie feel how important she is to her. She leans in and kisses Josie with as much passion and meaning that she can put in a single kiss. The tribrid almost growls when Lizzie gets out of the bathroom and clears her throat loudly.

 

"Party's starting and we're late!"

 

Hope sighs in frustration. "And whose fault is it?"

 

Lizzie walks closer to the couple with a mischeivious smile. "Stop playing the big bad wolf. I know you're just a puppy now. Josie thinks it's adorable by the way."

 

Then Lizzie is out of the door. Hope's mouth hangs open in outrage, she looks at Josie with her eyes wide. The only result is a booming laughter coming out of the younger girl.

 

"Don't be so dramatic! The puppy look is so cute on you."

 

"I'm not a puppy! I'm a strong wolf. I'm scary and dangerous." Hope argues.

 

"If you say so, babe."

 

The term of endearment catches both girls off guard. Josie looks almost afraid of Hope's reaction. All the tribrid does is give her girlfriend a smug smile.

 

"Whatever, sweetheart." The blush covering Josie's cheek makes Hope smile. "Come on, we should go to the party."

 

They have a short walk through the school to get to the party. After only a couple of steps, Hope feels brave enough to gently take Josie's hand in her's. Josie's smile is immediately wider and she intertwine their fingers, making Hope's heart race a little faster at the same time. They're not even in the room where the party takes place, but Hope can already hear the music. She's suddenly reconsidering the whole idea of having a birthday party. She's still somehow adjusting to the idea of people actually showing up for said party, but there are people, she can hear them.

 

"Are you okay?" Josie asks. "You know, there's still time to ditch the party. You could go have dinner with your family."

 

Josie's face is showing nothing but understanding, and that's when Hope makes her final choice. She squeezes Josie's hand and opens the door to the room. Everyone scream when they see the girls passing the door. Hope spots her family standing on the right side of the room. Then she sees her friends standing on the left. Finally she locks eyes with Caroline and Alaric, standing in the center of the room with a fake smile on their face. The nauseous feeling rise again and Hope locks her jaws, her whole body tensing up. Josie and Lizzie were in danger and they didn't even know it. Hope feels Josie squeezing her hand, when the tribrid looks at her girlfriend, she's devastated to see worry in warm brown eyes.

 

"I'm fine." Hope screams over the music. "Just nervous, don't worry, okay?"

 

Hope can tell that Josie's not convinced, but the brunnette doesn't say anything. The tribrid sees her family walking to them and now it's Josie's turn to tense up. Hope lifts a eyebrow and gives Josie a smirk. Josie rolls her eyes, but the smile on her face betrays her amusement.

 

"Hope, you look beautiful love." Rebekah says. "And you have to be Josie." The blonde gives Josie a once over with curiosity written all over her face. "I heard good things about you, but let's have a chat later."

 

"Aunt Rebekah..." Hope pleads.

 

"Someone has to do it, would you prefer it to be Kol?"

 

Hope looks at her uncle, the devilish smile on his face immediately telling her how that conversation would go.

 

"Be gentle with her?" Hope asks Rebekah.

 

Before Rebekah can answer, Freya gives her a look and walks past her to give Hope a hug. Rebekah takes this as an opportunity to take Josie away. Hope loosen her hug and looks at Josie's disappearing form.

 

"Don't worry, Rebekah won't do much." Freya said with a chuckle.

 

Hope gives her a look as she pulls away. "You know how she can be."

 

Freya shrugs. "She's protective, we all are."

 

"She promised she would be kind." Marcel adds with a soft smile.

 

It takes about ten minutes until Josie's back with Rebekah. They come back chatting and laughing and honestly Hope doesn't even know why she was nervous. Of course Josie would win Rebekah over, the brunette was the sweetest human being on earth. Hope introduces Josie to the rest of her family and they all love her immediately. As soon as Josie's hand is back in hers, Hope feels a little better. The Mikaelson clan soon push them to go have fun with their friends with a promise to catch breakfast the following morning. Hope is surprised by MG's hug, but she manages to hug him back. Even Penelope wishes her a happy birthday. The night is fun, but Hope still has a lot on her mind. Everytime her eyes lay on Caroline or Alaric, the tribrid is reminded of the terrible secret she's guarding. When she sees them talking in a corner of the room, Hope decides that she's been patient enough. She excuses herself and pretend that she's going to get something to drink. She walks to Josie's parents and they look at her like they expected her to look for them.

 

"Are you having a good night, Hope?" Caroline asks.

 

"It'd be better if I didn't have to hide things from Josie and Lizzie. Time's up, you tell them now or I do."

 

"Hope, we really think it'd be better if -"

 

"You've had sixteen years to find something, and you didn't! Now you tell them and we can all find a solution together." Hope is furious, they were still trying to change her mind.

 

"Hope? What is happening?"

 

Josie's voice makes Hope look back at her girlfriend. Josie is standing just behind her, her face twisted with confusion. Lizzie is by her side as confused as Josie. From the corner of her eyes, Hope can see her own family walking to them, worry evident on their faces.

 

"Is something wrong here?" Kol asks with a twisted smile.

 

Caroline sighs and shakes her head. "Let's do this somewhere else, shall we?"

 

The blonde vampire turns around and walks out of the room. Everyone follows her, but Hope takes the time to take Josie's hand in her's. They all end up in Alaric and Caroline's office.

 

"Well, for starters, I just want to make it clear that Hope learned about all of this this afternoon." Caroline looks at Josie. "Don't be mad at her sweetie, it's not her fault."

 

Josie's eyes are wide and she looks so confused and lost that Hope feels her heart break. If she could just take all of Josie's pain away, she'd do it in a heartbeat. As Caroline tells everything, Hope can only watch as Josie and Lizzie are breaking. Lizzie falls to her knees, and Josie is quick to kneel next to her and wrap her in an embrace. Hope can see how Josie's trying to stay strong, but she also see the fear in Josie's eyes. She's seen that same fear when Josie would wake up from one of her nightmares. The tribrid doesn't know if she has the right to get close to the twins. She knows Caroline defended her, but Hope doesn't know if Josie is gonna be mad at her. Hope walks slowly to the twins and kneels at a distance from them. Josie looks at her and when their eyes meet, Josie's tears start to fall.

 

"Hope..." Josie says as she fights a sob.

 

Then Hope can't take the distance, she closes it and wraps her arms around both twins. Josie's is quick to bury her face in her girlfriend's neck. The hug is tight, and Hope feel her own tears start to fall.

 

"I won't let anything happen to either of you. Did I make myself clear? Neither of you is dying." Hope says loud and clear, even as the tears escape her eyes.

 

Lizzie glares at her. "Didn't you hear our mother? Sixteen years and they found no way to stop this."

 

"We'll find a way." Hope says. "Maybe they just didn't look at the right place." Hope looks at her aunt Freya. "If their coven is basically extinct, do they really have to do it? They can't be leaders of a nonexistent coven, right?"

 

Freya looks torn. "I don't know Hope. Will they be able to live past their 22nd birthday if they don't merge? Only time could tell."

 

Hope shakes her head. "This is not good enough. We need real answers. What happened to their Coven?"

 

"They all died when Kai Parker killed himself." Alaric looks at his girls. "He was your biological mother's twin. He was the first siphon, and it scared his coven. They didn't want him to become their coven's leader, so his parents had other kids until they had another set of twins. When he found out, Kai killed all his siblings. He severely injured Jo, but she successfully hid Liv and Luke, the twins. The coven imprisoned Kai in a prison world, but he escaped. It's a whole story, but he finally merged with Luke and became the coven's leader. He was a psychopath, when he killed himself, it killed everyone that was part of the coven."

 

"This is horrible." Josie says.

 

"What if one of them turns before their birthday? It would stop the Merge, right?" Hope asks.

 

Caroline shakes her head. "We're not turning one of our daughters."

 

"That's not your choice to make." Josie says. "I'd much rather live as a vampire than die."

 

"Wait." Freya says. "If the coven if extinct, there's no way to know if the Merge will happen."

 

"But we can't wait until then to know for sure." Hope argues.

 

"Is there a more dominant twin?" Freya asks.

 

Josie and Lizzie share a look, and when Josie breaks it she looks defeated. "Lizzie is."

 

Freya nods. "Have you every tried siphoning from one another?"

 

Lizzie frowns. "We don't have our own magic, it wouldn't do anything."

 

"Could you try?" Freya insists.

 

"This is way too dangerous! Are you trying to make them merge right now?" Caroline says angrily.

 

"What if they didn't siphon from each other during the ritual?" Hope asks. "If they siphoned from me, would it work?"

 

It makes everyone pause for a minute. The adults in the room all look at each other, uncertainty written all over their faces. Lizzie is shocked, and Josie just shakes her head no.

 

"It could kill you." Josie finally says.

 

"I'd come back as a vampire." Hope argues. "Maybe you'd only strip me of my magic. Could it be possible aunt Freya?"

 

"I think you could be right Hope. With your werewolf habilities on top of it, you could heal as they siphon from you. Did they ever siphoned from you before?"

 

"We did." Lizzie says. "A couple of times actually."

 

Freya nods pensively. "Good. How does it makes you feel Hope?"

 

"Not that bad. I mean, I feel the magic going away, but it doesn't make me dizzy like Penelope."

 

"Then I really think it could work, I also think that Hope wouldn't die from the ritual, her werewolf side would protect her. However, there is a good chance that you'll lose your magic."

 

"I don't care." Hope simply says.

 

"You'd do that for us?" Josie asks, looking like she might break at any moment.

 

Hope focuses her attention on Josie and Josie alone. The tribrid gets closer to her girlfriend, and without caring about anyone in the room, Hope kisses Josie. It's as soft as it could be. It doesn't last long, but it still leaves Josie's lips tingling.

 

"I didn't say anything earlier when you told me how you feel about me, but I hope that this will show you just how much I care." Hope whispers.

 

When Hope pulls away, she sees that most people in the room looked a bit embarrassed. She didn't care though, Josie needed to hear that.

 

"Do we have to wait until their 22nd birthday?" Hope asks.

 

Caroline shakes her head. "No, we don't have to. 22 is more like a deadline."

 

"Then let's do it tomorrow and get it over with. You spent 16 years looking for a way to stop the Merge, you must know how to perform the ritual, right?"

 

"We do." Alaric says.

 

"Will you help aunt Freya?" Hope asks.

 

"Of course. I'm not letting you do this alone."

 

"We're not leaving either." Rebekah adds.

 

"I'll help too." Davina says with a soft smile.

 

When everything is settled, everyone decide to part ways. Davina, Kol, Rebekah and Marcel go back to the Mikaelson Mystic Falls house. Freya decides to stay and help Caroline and Alaric to set everything up for the ritual. Keelin asks Hope to go on a run with her. Hope looks torn, it's clear she wants to go, but she doesn't want to leave Josie's side. Josie is quick to comfort her, she tells Hope to go, that she'll stay with Lizzie. Hope kisses her one last time before following Keelin out of the school.

 

About two hours later, Hope goes back to her room. When she crosses the doorway, she doesn't expect to find her girlfriend sitting on her bed, but she's pleasantly surprised when she sees Josie.

 

"Hi." Hope says softly.

 

"Hi." Josie replies as she gets up.

 

"I thought you were staying with Lizzie."

 

"I was, but she fell asleep so fast and I couldn't close my eyes. I kept thinking about you and what you're about to do for us."

 

"I'd do anything for you, and by extension for Lizzie too."

 

"Hope..." Josie says looking like she came into the room to try and argue Hope's decision.

 

"No. Do you remember the night of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, you asks to have a drama free night? I'm asking you the same thing now. Let's just have tonight, okay?" Josie nods, and Hope smiles. "Do you mind waiting for me for like ten minutes? I'm going to take a shower."

 

"Go ahead, I'll be here when you're done."

 

It takes Hope a little more than ten minutes to come back in her room. When she does, she sees Josie looking at the painting of the Mikaelson family.

 

"You like that one, uh?" Hope softly asks.

 

Josie jumps. "Sorry, it's just that I think your family looks so beautiful in this painting. I met all of them now and I have a hard time connecting everything that I know about your family to the people I met. I heard horrible things about your father, but I only saw a man trying to save his daughter when I met him. I'd like to know more about them. Would you tell me some things?"

 

Hope softens at Josie's words. "I'll tell you everything you want to know, but not tonight."

 

Josie frowns. "Why?"

 

"Because tonight is about you and me."

 

Then Hope closes the distance. She places her hands on Josie's waist and pulls her closer. Their lips meet like magnets. Josie's hands cup Hope's cheeks as their lips dance with each other. Hope softly pushes Josie towards the bed, but as soon as Josie's knees touch the mattress, Josie turns them around. When the back of Hope's knees touch the mattress, she sits down on the bed and breaks the kiss in the process. Hope looks up and meets Josie's eyes, she sees passion and love in the warm brown of Josie's eyes. Josie walks closer, until she's standing between Hope's legs. Then she takes the end of her shirt and takes it off. Hope's eyes widen, but her surprise doesn't last long. The tribrid takes her own shirt off and pushes her hair out of her face. Josie looks at Hope for a moment before straddling her. As soon as she does, their lips crash together again. Hope touches the bare skin of Josie's back, embracing every inch of skin she touches. Josie's fingers tangle in Hope's hair as their kisses get more heated. Josie almost whines when Hope's mouth leaves hers. Hope's lips travel down and stop for a moment at Josie's jaw, leaving soft kisses there. Then she moves to Josie's neck. Hope moves on instincts, almost like her wolf side is taking over. She kisses Josie's neck, nips at her skin with her teeth. When Hope lands on a spot that makes Josie shudder in her arms, Hope stops there and start sucking hard, hard enough to bruise the soft skin of Josie's skin. The need to mark Josie is almost unbearable, and if Hope wasn't in such a heated state she might feel ashamed of it, but right now she can't bring herself to think about that. When Hope is satisfied with her mark, she leaves Josie's neck and looks right into Josie's eyes. The warm brown of Josie's eyes is now so dark from lust that Hope barely recognizes them.

 

"Hope, are you sure we should -" Josie starts.

 

Hope cuts her off. "I want this. Do you?"

 

"Yes." Josie answers.

 

"Then why shouldn't we?"

 

Josie doesn't answer her, she simply brings their lips together again as her hands go to undo Hope's bra.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait and thank you for your patience!

When Hope wakes up, she's surrounded by warmth. She's still fully naked just like Josie. The brunette is holding her tribrid girlfriend tightly to her chest. Hope's head is resting just under Josie's chin. There, she can feel the heartbeat of the witch beating softly. She never wants it to stop beating, Hope prefers to give up her own heartbeat. Today was the day where everything could change. There were so many possibilities. She could lose her magic, she could keep it, she could die, she could live... Everything felt very heavy on her shoulders, but she'd never admit it. Hope would never want Josie to worry, to question the decision they already made. As the thoughts keep running inside her mind, Hope cuddled impossibly closer to Josie. The barely there movement caused Josie to wake up. Hope only noticed it when she felt a soft kiss being placed on her head. The tribrid pulled away to look at Josie, she was met by the warm brown eyes of her girlfriend looking lovingly at her.

 

"Good morning babe." Josie said with a smile.

 

The little term of endearment caused a big smile to make its way to Hope's face. Instead of replying, Hope leaned in and kissed Josie's cheek before nuzzling in the crook of her neck.

 

"Did you sleep well?" Josie softly asks, her lips close to Hope's ear.

 

Hope couldn't stop the shiver running down her spine. "The best sleep I've ever had. How about you?"

 

"Same." Josie says.

 

There is a soft knock on the door. "Hope? Are you awake love?"

 

Hope immediately recognizes her aunt's voice. It quickly registers that her aunt will probably want to come in, and they were both still very naked. Hope gives Josie an apologetic smile before pulling away from her and getting out of bed. The brunette immediately follows and picks up her clothes from the floor. Another knock on the door and Hope realizes she never answered her aunt Rebekah.

 

"I'm awake, just getting dressed aunt Rebekah." Hope says as she shares a sheepish smile with Josie.

 

When they're both dressed, Hope walks to Josie and softly kisses her cheek before making her way to the door. As soon as she opens the door, Hope is met with a smiling Rebekah. The soft smile quickly turns to a teasing one when the blonde woman spots Josie standing just behind her niece.

 

"Well, well, well... Did I interrupt something?"

 

Even without looking back at Josie, Hope can picture the deep blush on her girlfriend's face. The tribrid gives her aunt a warning glare, unhappy that she teased Josie.

 

"As protective as her father this one." Rebekah says as she playfully rolls her eyes.

 

Hope feels Josie's hand softly carressing her forearm to get her attention, which she immediately gives her.

 

"I'm gonna go to my room to check on Lizzie and get ready for the day. I'll see you later." Josie says.

 

Hope looks like she wants to protest, but thinks better of it. "Sure."

 

When Josie's out of sight and Rebekah comes into the room, Hope expects her aunt to tease her, but she's surprised to find Rebekah with a serious looks on her face. Hope closes her door and walks closer to her aunt.

 

"Hope, are you sure about the choice you made?"

 

"Aunt Rebekah -" Hope says warningly.

 

Rebekah cuts her off. "Just hear me out. I know you love Josie, and I also know what love can do to a Mikaelson. I am one after all. My question is, did you stop for a minute and really think about the consequences of this choice?"

 

Hope scoffs. "I'm not stupid. I know full well what could happen. I want to do this. For Josie, and even for Lizzie. Whatever happens, I'll deal with it."

 

Rebekah still looks unsure, but she doesn't say anything else, instead she pulls Hope in a tight hug. Just like that, Hope feels at home. When she's in school, she puts a masks and pretend that being away from her family doesn't get to her. But the thruth is that it hurts.

 

*

 

There's a small clearing in the woods surrounding the school. That's where they all agreed to meet up to do the ritual. Hope hasn't seen her girlfriend since they parted ways that morning, so she's relieved to see Josie standing with her family in the clearing. Hope is walking with her own family, and she can feel their unwavering support, even though she's well aware of their worries. She briefly wonders what her parents would think of her decision. Would they understand and support her? She sure hopes so.

 

When they are closer, Hope sees that everything is already set up for the ceremony and it makes her a little nervous. Hope sees her aunt Freya standing with Alaric and Caroline and she walks to them. Before she can reach them, Hope feels the soft hand of her girlfriend slipping into hers. All seriousness and harsh talks are put aside. The tribrid's expression softens as she turns to face Josie.

 

"Hi." Josie says with a shy smile.

 

"Hi." Hope says as she gets closer.

 

Hope is a little suprised when Josie closes the gap between them and kisses her softly, but she's not one to complain. Hope wraps her arms around Josie's waist, holding her close. The kiss doesn't last long, but they stay close, their forehead's still touching. Nobody says a thing, everyone let them have a moment alone. Josie's eyes stay closed, but Hope's are open. The tribrid takes in every features of her girlfriend's face. After a moment, Hope squeezes Josie's waist to make her open her eyes. When the brunette finally does, they pull apart slowly. Hope turns to Freya and Davina and nods.

 

"Let's do this." Hope says with determination.

 

Hope, Josie and Lizzie all join hands. They listen carefully to Caroline and Alaric's instructions and then the ritual begins. At first, Hope doesn't feel a thing. But then she can feel it, the girls siphoning the magic. It doesn't feel like it usually did, no, this time it felt aggressive. Hope has to restrain herself from fighting it. Soon, she feels all of her magic being stripped away and it makes her feel weak. Before she can register what's happening, everything fades to black.

 

Everyone watches the girls do the ritual with worry written all over their faces. When the three girls seem to fall unconscious, they all panic. Marcel speeds his way to Hope, keeping her from hitting the ground. Caroline does the same for her girls. Caroline and Alaric are soon relieved to see their girls still breathing, and to feel their heartbeats, but the Mikaelsons don't have that chance. As soon as Hope is in Marcel's arms, he can feel it, or rather he can't feel it. There's no heartbeat. Marcel's face betray what he knows and soon every Mikaelson is in panic mode.

 

"You said her werewolf side would protect her!" Rebekah accuses Freya.

 

"I said it could work, there were no way of knowing if it would." Freya answers, her eyes full of tears.

 

"What if she doesn't come back?" Keelin asks, worry clouding her face.

 

"She will..." Kol says. "She has to."

 

Meanwhile, the twins slowly come back to their senses. They are greeted by hugs and kisses and soft words. Josie has none of it though, she soon pushes her parents away.

 

"Hope?" She says softly.

 

Alaric and Caroline share a look, and it sends panic flowing through Josie's brain. She quickly turns her head and sees the commotion around Hope's body, the worry and the panic clouding every one of the Mikaelson's. The tears comes to Josie's eyes fast, again she pushes her parents away. Josie gets up with difficulty, and walks to where her girlfriend layed in her uncle's arms.

 

"No." Josie says before looking at Freya, grasping the older witch's attention. "She can't be..."

 

"She'll come back."

 

Josie looks unsure, but she still takes one of Hope's hand in hers. The young witch is devastated, the tears are streaming down her face.

 

"It's my fault. All of this is my fault." Josie whispers.

 

"It's not." Davina says, as she lays a comforting hand on Josie's shoulder. "It was her choice. She knew full well what could happen."

 

Josie just shakes her head, not yet ready to accept it. It isn't long before Lizzie joins Josie on the ground, holding her twin tightly. They stay like that for a moment, noone daring to break the silence. It's Freya who finally does, unsurprisingly. The older Mikaelson had always been the voice of reason.

 

"We should take Hope to one of the werewolf cells. She'll be thirsty when she'll wake up. We don't know how she'll react to that new part of herself."

 

It immediately puts Josie in action. She gets up and walk to her father and Freya with a threatening look on her face.

 

"Don't you dare lock her up! Do you know how messed up she was after what happened to her? She acted brave and strong, but she was scared and hurt. I won't let you do that to her."

 

Freya looks confused, then some realization seems to get to her. "The incident you talked about, what was it?" Freya asks through gritted teeth.

 

When Alaric doesn't give an answer, Josie is quick to speak up.

 

"He didn't tell you?" Josie says with a dark chuckle. "Some wanna be werewolf and her witch boyfriend kidnapped Hope, tortured her and locked her up. When I found her, she was chained to a wall, covered in her own blood."

 

A look of pure horror crosses Freya's face, before anger appears. Then something takes everyone by surprise. A booming laughter echoes through the clearing. They all look to Kol, he looked like a mad man.

 

"It's been so long since I had a good reason to kill someone!" Kol says as he starts to walk towards Alaric.

 

He's quickly stopped by Marcel, and a fight starts. Kol takes advantage of the fight almost as soon as it starts, but Freya uses a spell to stop them. Then she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm herself. When she opens her eyes again, she focuses her gaze on Josie.

 

"I know it'll be hard to hear and accept, but we have to get Hope to one of those cells. She could represent a real danger. No harm will be done to her, you have my word."

 

Josie's about to protest but she stops when she feels Lizzie slip her hands into hers.

 

"She wouldn't hurt her niece Jo. Just let them get Hope in a cell, we'll stay with her."

 

Lizzie's words take Josie by surprise. She sees the genuine care in Lizzie's eyes, and she knows that her twin means every word. With her twin by her side, Josie finally agrees to let them take Hope to a cell. Marcel carefully places Hope on the cot of the cell under the intense gazes of everyone present. Josie is well aware of Alicia and Lucas watching them, but they haven't spoke up yet. As soon as Marcel steps out of the cell, Josie makes a move to get inside only to be stopped by Caroline.

 

"I'm sorry sweetie, you can't get in." Caroline says softly.

 

"Get out of my way." Josie simply says back.

 

"Josie, listen to mom." Lizzie says as she puts a comforting hand on Josie's shoulder. "She just wants to protect you. There's no way of knowing how Hope will react when she'll wake up."

 

Josie tightens her jaw. "She'd _never_ hurt me."

 

"The problem is : she might not have complete control of her actions. We just want you to be careful."

 

"Fine!" Josie says.

 

Josie feels angry and frustrated. She just wants to get inside and hold her girlfriend until she wakes up. The witch can't stand the fact that Hope will wake up alone, and as a vampire.After a good moment filled with conversations, Josie sits down leaning on the cell bars.She feels the tears building up in her eyes, but refuses to let them fall. It doesn't take long for Lizzie to sit by her side. The blonde twin stays silent and Josie's kind of gratefull for the lack of words. Josie sees her parents leave, followed by most of the Mikaelson family. Only Keelin stays behind. They must have told Josie and Lizzie where they were going, but Josie hadn't heard a thing. They spend an hour sitting outside of the cell. Josie hears Alicia trying to tease her, but she doesn't even bother to answer. Keelin threatens the girl and she falls silent, to Josie's delight. The brunette witch hears her sister and Keelin making small talk, she registers some of the conversations but not that much. What puts Josie into action is the sound of someone moving behind her. Josie is quick to get up and turn around. She's met by a sight she's been dying to see. Hope is awake, and she's sitting on her cot. She looks scared and confused. Josie curses the bars seperating them.

 

"Hope! Are you okay? How do you feel?" Josie turns to Lizzie and Keelin. "Go get the others."

 

Keelin immediately goes, but Lizzie decides to stay with her sister. Meanwhile, Hope's eyes focus on Josie. She looks relieved for a moment, but soon her eyes widen and she forces herself to look elsewhere.

 

"Hope... please say something." Hope shakes her head. "Are you thirsty?"

 

Hope's eyes snap up and meet Josie's. They're wide, but Josie's not sure why. Is it fear? Shock? Confusion? Did she even know what happened to her? Before she can ask any more questions, her parents and Hope's family come into the room. Hope looks relieved to see them, until she spots a blood bag in Alaric's hands.

 

"Get that away from me." Hope says with a surprising calm.

 

Everyone is taken by surprise. Alaric stops his walk and looks at the Mikaelsons, wondering what to do next.

 

"Hope, it's just blood. You can take it whenever you're ready. It doesn't have to be now." Rebekah softly says.

 

Hope shakes her head and in the process, Josie sees the tears streaking her cheeks.

 

"I'm not taking it. I won't complete the change."

 

"Don't be ridiculus and drink the damn bag." Kol harshly says.

 

"Can you all assure me that I won't be a monster? Because after I drink that blood, I'll be a complete tribrid. I can still feel the magic in me. What if it drives me mad? I can't do it. I won't do it."

 

The words take a moment to get to Josie's brain, but when they do it gets Josie really angry. Josie grabs Freya's hand since she's the closest to her and before anyone can do anything, Josie mutters a spell that opens Hope's cell door. As soon as she's inside, Josie makes the door close again. Hope looks at Josie with panic on her face.

 

"You don't get to do that, do you hear me?" Josie yells. "You said you'd do this for us. You knew that this could happen. You don't get to just chicken out now. Assume your choice and stay! You don't get to sleep with me and then just leave."

 

With every step that Josie took to get to Hope, Hope backed away on her cot until her back was against the wall. Josie could see the fear in Hope's eyes, but she didn't let it get to her. When she sits down on the bed, Josie hears the door of the cell open, but noone gets in. Hope flinches as soon as Josie sits, but she lets the brunette take her hand.

 

"Please, Hope. Don't give up now." Josie says as she gets closer to Hope, until she's sitting on her knees only centimeters away from her girlfriend. "I love you." She whispers.

 

Hope's eyes widen. "I love you too. I just..."

 

Josie sees Hope looking over her shoulder. Josie turns around and quickly spots what Hope is looking at. The blood bag still in her father's hands. When Josie turns to Hope again, she sees a slight disgust on her face and it puts the younger girl into action. Josie pushes her hair to one side and then she puts her hands on Hope's neck and forces her to look at her.

 

"Drink from me." Josie says softly.

 

"No way!" Caroline says as she gets into the cell.

 

Without breaking eye contact with Hope, Josie raises her hand towards her mother and magically pushes her out of the cell. Then she feels Hope's hands on her waist.

 

"She's right Josie. I can't do that, I can't hurt you." Hope says with pain in her voice.

 

"I trust you. Do it."

 

With those simple words Hope changes her mind. When Hope's teeth break the skin of Josie's neck, the brunette lets out a little whine. The pain is sharp, but brief. She can feel Hope sucking her blood, but she somehow does it gently. Soon, Josie becomes light headed and she knows she has to stop Hope. Her hands, now tangled in Hope's hair, come to rest on Hope's shoulder.

 

"Hope... It's enough. Please stop."

 

Hope's reaction is immediate. She stops sucking and pulls her teeth out. Hope's mouth stays over the mark she made on Josie's skin. Without thinking too much about it, the tribrid softly kisses the still bleeding spot before pulling away from Josie. That's when Hope sees the soft smile on Josie's face.

 

"See, you did it." Josie says with a growing smile.

 

Hope looks taken aback for a second. "I... I did it. You asked me to stop and I did."

 

"I knew you wouldn't hurt me." Josie says as she pushes a stray lock of hair behind Hope's ear.

 

"Hope, love, are you okay?" Rebekah asks.

 

"I'm good." Is all Hope replies, her attention on Josie only. "Did it hurt?"

 

"Not much." Josie says. "It's perfectly bearable."

 

"I love you." Hope blurts out.

 

Josie chuckles. "I love you too."

 

Hope is blushing, but a chuckle leaves her lips. "Sorry. I just wanted to say without the the fear of dying, you know?"

 

"You can say it whenever you want, I'll never get tired of hearing it."

 

While the two lovebirds are admitting their love for each other, the adults are having their own conversation.

 

"The change is complete." Freya states.

 

"I can't believe she fed from Josie!" Alaric says with anger.

 

Marcel glares at him. "Your daughter offered, it was her choice. After what Hope did for Josie and Lizzie, I can't believe you're being mad at her for drawing a little bit of blood from your daughter."

 

"This could have gone so wrong Marcel!" Caroline protests.

 

"It could've, but it didn't." Keelin says. "Now we know what kind of vampire Hope is, she's in control."

 

"Well we're still following protocol." Alaric says, his jaw tense as he crosses his arms.

 

Rebekah archs a brow in question. "What is the protocol?"

 

"Hope has to stay in this cell until she's okay with feeding on animal blood." Josie says from the cell. She turns to Hope again. "Don't worry, I'll stay with you."

 

"I can stay alone. I'll be fine." Hope says.

 

"I'm not leaving you." Josie's words leave no place to debate.

 

Everyone talk for a long moment. Josie and Hope stay on the bed, and at one moment Josie leans her back to Hope's chest. She can feel her girlfriend tense for a second before she embraces Josie and pulls her flush against her. Josie feels the soft kiss Hope places on her head, so she squeezes the hands holding her waist. They all part ways after a while. The Mikaelson family decide to go home, with the promise of coming back the next day. Lizzie wishes her sister a good night and thanks Hope before making her exit. Alaric and Caroline linger, but Josie assure them that she'll be fine. As soon as they are left alone, they realize that they're really not. Someone start to clap their hands in another cell.

 

"How brave to sacrifice your humanity for your girlfriend Mikaelson." Alicia says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now we're all stuck together I guess."

 

Hope raises her hand and says a spell that Josie immediately recognizes. Alicia's lips are sealed shut and she looks panicked. Josie starts to laugh. Lucas looks about to say something but Hope's glare stops him.

 

"If I hear one word coming out of your mouth, it will be the last, capiche?" Hope threatens him.

 

The boy only nods his answer.

 

"That was kinda mean."

 

Hope shrugs. "My emotions are high right now." The tribrid sighs loudly and lays on the bed. "I'm exhausted. Do you mind if we go to sleep?"

 

Josie's eyes lay on her girlfriend and her whole face softens. "Of course not."

 

As soon as she lays down beside Hope, the tribrid turns to face her.

 

"Do you mind holding me? I... I love it when you do." Hope says barely above a whisper.

 

Josie leans in and pecks Hope's lips quickly. "Turn around"

 

Hope gives Josie her softest smile before doing as she was told. As soon as Josie embraces her girlfriend, she feels the tension leaving Hope's body. It isn't long before Hope is asleep. It takes Josie a little longer, only because she's fighting the sleep away. She just wants to feel like this for a little more time. Somehow it feels like nothing will ever be the same around them.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I'm back! So I'm really sorry I disapeared for a while. Personal issues kept me from writing and then I got really sick. But as soon as I could I wrote. This isn't much and the chapter could have gone on, but I really wanted to get something out!
> 
> Enjoy!

After a week of seeing Hope starving herself, Josie can't take it anymore. The animal blood makes the tribrid wanna puke, but it was the only thing keeping her in the cell. Josie visits Hope everyday, tries to convince her girlfriend to feed more, but more often than not she refuses. The Mikaelsons fight with Alaric everyday to try and make him loosen his rules, but he doesn't give in. Caroline and Alaric are firm, if Hope doesn't accept to normally feed on animal blood, she'll have to go. So that brings Josie to her parent's office. The door is open and it's clear to see that her parents are having a serious discussion. Josie takes a deep breath before she knocks on the door. Her parents stop talking immediately. Caroline's face softens as soon as she sees Josie, but Alaric's face stays guarded. Josie's relationship with her parents wasn't the best at the moment, and she knew it hurt them.

 

"Can I come in?" Josie softly asks.

 

"Of course, honey." Caroline answers with a smile.

 

Josie walks in slowly, settling herself near the door with her arms crossed. She looks at the desk, and she sees two student's files open. She's too far to see the names of the pictures.

 

"Are we getting new students?" Josie asks, curiosity getting the best of her.

 

"We're not sure yet." Alaric says.

 

Josie can see that he's tense, and it makes her frown. She uncrosses her arms and walks quickly to the desk, her parents don't stop her but she can see that they are feeling uneasy. Then she finally reads the names on the files and it gets her angry.

 

"Alicia and Lucas, you can't actually be serious." Josie says, her face devoid of emotions.

 

"This school is about second chances Josie. It's about controlling the darker side in each of us. They deserve that too." Caroline says as she tries to get closer to Josie.

 

"You're treating Hope like some kind of monster that needs to be caged or disposed of, but you're gonna allow those two to walk around freely?"

 

Josie turns around to leave, but her mother uses her vampire speed to block her way. The blonde woman places her hands on Josie's shoulders but quickly retreats when she sees the anger in her daughter's eyes.

 

"It's school requirement Josie. Vampires drink animal blood, werewolves stay in cages during full moon and witches aren't allowed to do magic outside classes." Caroline explains. "We can't always make an exception for Hope."

 

Josie snorts. "You were fine making exceptions when you needed her to fight some monsters." She looks at both her parents with disgust. "You're both just hypocrites."

 

"Josette Saltzman, don't you talk to us like that!" Alaric raises his voice.

 

"What's going on here?" Rebekah asks as she gets inside the office with Freya.

 

Freya walks to Josie and puts a protective arm around Josie's shoulder.

 

"Are you alright sweetie?"

 

"They want Hope to leave." Josie says as tears build into her eyes.

 

"That's not what we said!" Caroline protests.

 

"I can't take it. She can't leave. Please don't take her back to New Orleans." Josie pratically begs the Mikaelson women.

 

Freya and Rebekah share a look, then Freya squeezes Josie and gives her a warm smile.

 

"How about you go give Hope her dinner, and we stay here to have a real nice talk with your parents?"

 

From the looks of all the adults in the room, Josie understands that she doesn't really have a choice. This talk would take place without her, wether she liked it or not. Josie wipes her tears and shakes her head.

 

"Fine." She says through gritted teeth.

 

Freya loosen her hold on Josie and the brunette walks out of the room. Josie angrily wipes the tears from her cheeks, she didn't want Hope to know she had been crying. But as she's walking to the werewolf cells, a new plan forms itself in her head. She quickly turns around to go to her own room. Lizzie jumps when Josie barges into their room.

 

"I need your help." Josie states.

 

Lizzie's eyes widen. "Okay. What for?"

 

"I'm running away with Hope and I want you to come."

 

Lizzie bursts into laughter, but it soon dies down when she realizes that Josie is as serious as can be.

 

"You... you can't be serious. How? When? Why?"

 

"We're gonna steal dad's van, or his car. As soon as possible. I don't want to be seperated from Hope." Josie says with a single breath. "Did I answer all your questions?"

 

"No. Why do you want me to come?"

 

"You're my sister. I don't want to leave you behind. We always did that kind of thing together. I'm not leaving my Batman."

 

A smile grows on Lizzie's face. "At least now you admit that you're Robin." Josie glares at her, and Lizzie rolls her eyes. "Okay, what's the plan?"

 

"You get the keys to a car, and the food and all that we could need. I'm gonna get Hope out of here."

 

Lizzie and both girls immediately get to work. Josie walks out of her room and goes straight for Hope's cell. On the way there, she meets Penelope in the hallways and Josie does her best to look normal. Like she wasn't going to run away with her new girlfriend.

 

"In a hurry Jojo?" Penelope asks as she falls into steps with Josie.

 

"Yeah. It'd be great if you could, you know, not follow me." Josie says nervously.

 

"Okay, spill. What's going on?" Penelope says as she gently grabs Josie's arm to stop her.

 

"Nothing!" Josie says with a high pitched voice.

 

"Such a bad liar." Penelope says with a smirk. "Come on, I know you Jojo."

 

Josie groans and look around to be sure noone is around.

 

"Fine. I'm running away with Hope and Lizzie." Josie whispers. "Please, promise you won't tell."

 

Penelope gives Josie a mischevious smile.

 

"I'll come with, this way you won't have to worry." The short haired girl says with a wink.

 

Josie shakes her head. "No way. Lizzie's going to kill you and then me."

 

Penelope rolls her eyes playfully. "She'll get over it. Need help getting the mutt out of her cell?"

 

Josie glares at Penelope, and the short haired girl raises her hands in surrender with a chuckle.

 

"I could use your help." Josie nods. "You're pretty good with cloaking spells, right?"

 

Penelope smirks. "I'm the best." She gives Josie a wink.

 

"Then hide us, okay? My dad can't know we ran away until were already far from here."

 

Penelope frowns. "I can hide us, but I can't make him not notice."

 

"That'll be good enough. Now come on, we need to get to Hope."

 

As soon as they are in the werewolf transitionning cells, Josie rushes to Hope's. The older girl is sitting on her cot, looking as broken as ever. She's pale, and Josie can tell that her girlfriend hasn't fed in a long time. Hope looks up at Josie and smiles weakly.

 

"Hey, you're here." Hope says softly.

 

"How long has it been since you last fed?" Josie asks with a hint of anger.

 

Hope is taken aback. "Uh, I fed yesterday morning when you brought me the blood bag."

 

"You mean the blood bag you didn't finish." Josie states.

 

"Josie..."

 

"Jojo, you guys will have time to fight later. We need to get out of here, remember?" Penelope says from behind her.

 

Hope seems to just realize Penelope has been there since the begining.

 

"What's happening?" Hope asks, worry filling her voice.

 

"We're running away, but you starving yourself kind of jeopardize my plan! You're too weak to even walk to the car."

 

"Running away? What? But why?"

 

"Just trust me on this, I'll explain later."

 

Then Josie sits on the bed really close to her girlfriend. Hope visibly gulps and stops breathing and Josie knows exactly why. Hope is hungry and Josie's blood is the only thing she wants. The brunette witch rolls up the sleeve of her long-sleeved shirt and tends her wrist to Hope.

 

"Drink from me."

 

"Wha-"

 

Hope interrupts Penelope. "I won't do that again. We can't know if the last time was a lucky shot."

 

"Again?!"

 

"Hope, this is not me asking you to feed yourself. This is me demanding that you do it." Josie's eyes are pleading. "We need to go and I need you to be strong enough for the trip."

 

Hope's eyes are wide and she looks so scared that Josie almost feels bad. But then, Hope is coming closer, and she takes Josie's hand in hers. Hope brings Josie's wrist to her mouth, leaving a soft kiss to the skin before biting down. Josie lets out a little whine from the pain, and Hope's eyes immediately shot open. The tribrid is about to pull away, but Josie tangle her fingers in the auburn hair keeping Hope in place. Josie lets Hope drink for a moment, until she stars to feel weak and then she knows she has to stop her girlfriend.

 

"Baby, it's enough now." Josie says and presses a soft kiss on top of Hope's head.

 

There's a moment of hesitation, Josie can feel it. Hope's teeth pull out, but she hovers over the wound. Josie can see that Hope wants more, that she needs more, but it wouldn't do any good if Josie was the weak one.

 

"We'll get you more blood, okay?" Josie softly proposes. "That's all I can give you for now though."

 

Then Hope pulls away. Josie immediately sees the guilt in Hope's eyes.

 

"Not that I'm really happy that you just fed from Josie, but you can feel guilty about it later. We need to get out."

 

Both girls nod and quickly get up, but Josie feels weak as soon as she gets on her feet. Maybe she let Hope take a little too much of blood. Hope's arm is around her waist as soon a as she sees Josie's knees about to give out.

 

"I'll carry you."

 

Before Josie can react, Hope lifts her bridal style. If she had time to, Josie would be really embarrassed. Hope's hold on her is firm, unwavering. Hope nods in Penelope's direction, signaling that they're ready to go. Then they're all out of the room. They walk fast through the school, and in no time they're outside. It take them about a second to spot Lizzie nervously standing near Alaric's van. The only problem is she's not alone, MG and Kaled are standing next to her.

 

"Lizzie, why are they here?" Josie asks.

 

"MG followed me until I agreed to take him with us. Apparently, Kaleb and him are a package deal now. I didn't have much of a choice." Lizzie says with a pinch of annoyance. "Why is Hope carrying you and why is Satan here?"

 

"I'm feeling kinda weak since Hope fed on me. Penelope is coming with us, she'll help hide us." Josie quickly explains. "Now everyone in the van. We need to get out of here."

 

Everyone nods, and Lizzie is the first one to open one of the van's door. It's quickly shut closed and everyone stops dead in their tracks.

 

"Where the hell do you think you're all going?"

 

Behind them stands none other than an angry looking Freya Mikaelson.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> So I didn't get this chapter out this weekend... I'm sorry. But it's out now, so enjoy!

Hope's eyes glow before she speaks.

 

"Let us go aunt Freya." Hope says in a threathening tone.

 

Freya rolls her eyes. "This is ridiculus. Can you all just think this through? You're a bunch of kids, and one of you is a newly turned vampire. How far did you think you'd go before we'd get to you? Honestly, I don't think you would have gotten out of Mystic Falls. Now, everyone come back inside. We'll have a nice little chat with your headmasters."

 

Nobody talks for a moment. The kids all look at each other, wondering what will be their next move. Hope's hold on Josie is strong and Josie can see how much her girlfriend is fighting to stay in control. The anger and protectiveness of Hope mixed with her hightened emotions were a deadly mix. Josie lifts her hand to gently touch the tribrid's cheek. The touch is all it takes to get Hope's whole attention. She looks down at Josie with love.

 

"It's your call Hope. We'll do what you wanna do, right guys?"

 

Everyone is tense around them, a little afraid of what Hope's decision would be, but still ready to stay by her side. Hope looks around them, taking in every face. All these persons ready to fight for her, for the first time in a long time Hope felt like she was surrounded by the right people.

 

"We'll go in, but I don't want any of them to suffer the consequences of our almost run. I'll take the blame." Hope says as she looks her aunt straight in the eyes.

 

"What? No! I'll take the blame, it was my idea." Josie protests.

 

Hope ignores her. "Promise me aunt Freya, or we're getting into this van and you can count on the fact that you'll never see us again."

 

"Don't be so dramatic, nothing will happen to your friends."

 

With a last look to her friends, Hope followed Freya inside while still carrying Josie. As soon as they walked into the headmasters' office, Alaric and Caroline both stood up. They both stepped forward when they saw their daughter in Hope's arms. As soon as they tried to get closer, Hope's eyes glowed again as if to warn them not to come any closer.

 

"I can't believe you really tried to run away." Alaric says, defeated.

 

"Did you really think it would work?" Caroline asks.

 

Lizzie shrugs. "It was worth a try."

 

Hope saw Josie yawn in her arms, and when the brunette saw she had caught her girlfriend's attention she gave her a sheepish smile.

 

"I'm taking Josie to my room. She needs to rest, and some water, and stuff..."

 

"Hope, wait, we need to..." Alaric tried to stop her.

 

"We need to talk, I know. But for now Josie needs some rest. I'll be back to talk, you'll even get to lock me up again for all I care."

 

Without waiting for them to say anything else, Hope went out of the door. Josie doesn't say a word, she just cuddles into Hope's arms. The tribrid mutters a spell that opens the door of her room, and she wastes no time before gently laying Josie on the bed. She's about to pull away, but the witch has other plans. She tugs lightly on Hope's sleeve.

 

"Stay." She demands softly.

 

Hope finds herself unable to deny her girlfriend's request. As soon as she gets under the covers, the tribrid sighs in relief. It was good to be back in her bed, to just cuddle Josie. Hope buried her face in the crook of Josie's neck and inhaled deeply. Josie always smells good, but since she's a vampire, Hope appreciate the witch's scent even more. There was something very unique in Josie's smell. It scared Hope to be so attracted to that smell, because she felt like her control was slipping away every time Josie was around. Hope was sure she could control herself around humans, but controling herself around Josie seemed a lot harder.

 

"Hope?" Josie says softly.

 

"Yeah?" Hope answers in a whisper.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"I don't know." Hope answers thruthfully. "This hunger is so hard to get in check Jo. What if I can't do it? Maybe your parents are right, maybe I should just go..."

 

Josie turns around to face Hope. She's pouting and she looks so confused that Hope almost giggles at the sight.

 

"You _are_ in control. You bit me, twice, and you stopped both times."

 

"I hardly did the second time." Hope protests.

 

"But you did!" Josie says. "You can do this. I know you can. Anyway, I'm not gonna give up on you. Don't even think you're getting rid of me, okay?"

 

At that, Hope does giggle. "I wouldn't dream of getting rid of you. I love you."

 

"I love you too." Josie turns around again. "Now, would you please spoon me? I'm really tired. We'll find a solution later."

 

"As you wish."

 

Hope snuggles closer to Josie, draping her arm around the younger girl's waist. She holds Josie close, and for a moment she thinks that Josie's right, they are gonna find a solution. With that thought in mind, Hope closes her eyes and falls asleep.

 

When Josie's parents, her sister and Hope's family go to look for the girls, they find them cuddled in bed, fast asleep. Hope's arm is still around Josie's waist and the brunette is tightly holding her girlfriend's hand.

 

"We're not taking Hope back to the transition cells." Caroline lets out.

 

"Caroline..."

 

"No Ric." Caroline says firmly. "Look at them, they're just kids. Hope is just a kid, a kid who saved our daughters life. She's in this situation because she did that. It's our responsability to help her, and we're not helping her by having her locked up. Some vampires can't go with animal blood, I know that I don't."

 

"What are you suggesting then?" Alaric says.

 

"I'll teach her how to control her hunger. She's always been a quick learner, this won't be any different." Caroline looks at Hope's family. "Would that be okay with all of you?"

 

"It's okay with me, but we'll stay around." Freya says.

 

"I'll help." Marcel adds. "I control my hunger just fine."

 

"Well, we do need to go back home. But, we'll be a phone call away, if you need us you know what to do." Kol says as he takes Davina's hand in his.

 

"It's settled then." Rebekah says. "Kol and Davina are going home. Marcel, Keelin, Freya and I are staying."

 

"I'm sure Hope will love to hear that." Caroline says with a smile.

 

*****

 

The next morning, Hope wakes up still holding her girlfriend in her arms. She quickly realizes that Josie is still asleep when she hears her soft snors. The tribrid doesn't move for a while, she just lays there holding Josie as close as she can without waking her up. It feels peaceful to have Josie in her arms like that, she just wishes it won't end. She shakes her head to try and get out of her mind before gently untangling herself from her girlfriend. For a second, Hope thinks that she woke Josie up, but the brunette just shifts and take Hope's pillow to hold it close to her chest. She was still asleep.

 

The tribrid goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth before coming back to her room. Hope walks around her room for a moment, feeling content with being surrounded by her own stuff. When her eyes land on the pictures of her family, Hope thinks of the first night Josie spent in her room. It seemed so far away all of a sudden, so much had happened since that simple night. Hope looks back at Josie, and she has a sudden urge to paint her girlfriend. The painting would be so perfect, with Josie sleeping so peacefully. The tribrid walked to her dresser and quickly got a hairtie to pull her hair in a ponytail. She prepared all her painting material and started to work. Hopefully, it would kind her racing mind at bay. Hope couldn't tell how long she's been painting, but she only stops when Josie starts to move in bed. At first, Hope thinks her girlfriend is simply waking up, but she soons understands that Josie has a nightmare. The tribrid rushes to the bed and after a moment of hesitation, she places her hand on Josie's cheek softly carressing it.

 

"Josie, love, wake up. It's just a nightmare." Hope says, but Josie doesn't wake up. "Love, please, come back to me." She says with a bit more force.

 

Josie sits up in bed abruptly. She looks around with wide frightened eyes and she's gasping for air. Hope immediately knows what she dreamed about.

 

"Josie look around you. You're in my room, with me." Hope says. "It was only a nightmare, you're not in the cemetery."

 

"I- It felt so real." Josie says after a while, her gaze still unfocused.

 

Hope gets a little closer to Josie. She hesitates before touching the younger girl, in fear that Josie would feel threatened. When she does touch Josie's cheek with her hand, Hope is happy to see Josie lean into the touch.

 

"You're safe." Hope tries to reassure Josie.

 

The panic seems to leave Josie as soon as she hears those words. The witch's eyes settle on Hope and a soft smile graces her lips. Josie leans in and kisses Hope softly. When she pulls away, Hope gives her a teasing smile.

 

"You're lucky I love you. Morning breath is such a turn off." Hope teases.

 

Josie turns a dark shade of red and covers her face with her hands, muttering a long list of apologies.

 

Hope laughs. "I was kidding. I don't mind, you can kiss me whenever you want."

 

Josie shakes her head. "I'm never kissing you again."

 

Hope's eyes grow wide at Josie's serious tone. "Tell me you're joking."

 

Josie gets up from the bed, quickly followed by Hope. "Never again, you heard me."

 

Hope takes Josie by her hips, pulling her flush against her body. Josie's back is against Hope's front so Hope softly kisses her neck as she lets her hands wander under Josie's shirt. Hope's hands on her stomach quickly makes Josie shiver.

 

"Are you still never kissing me again?" Hope asks in Josie's ear.

 

"Well... not until I brush my teeth." Josie turns around in Hope's arms. "And not until you feed properly."

 

Hope stiffens. "Josie..."

 

"No. Look, we'll find a way for you to feed regularly but I want you to feed this morning."

 

"You know I can't feed on animal blood, right? It just doesn't work."

 

Josie sighs. "I know. Like I said, we'll find a way. Now let me go brush my teeth."

 

Hope smiles. "Fine."

 

Hope let her hold on Josie loose as the taller girl walks away. As she waits for Josie to come back, Hope puts her painting stuff away. She's almost done when Josie walks into the room, looking as fresh as ever. No one could tell how frightened she had been just a few minutes before.

 

"What were you painting?" Josie asks with a smile.

 

"Oh, nothing." Hope says, feeling a light blush covering her cheeks.

 

"Let me see."

 

Josie moves closer and Hope lets her see the painting. A lot of emotions cross Josie's face, and for a moment Hope's not sure if she crossed a line or not.

 

"I shouldn't have painted you while you were sleeping, I'm sorry."

 

Josie looks at her, confusion written all over her face. "What? Are you kidding me? This is beautiful. I just can't believe you really painted me."

 

"So, you're not mad." Josie shakes her head. "Oh... good. You looked so beautiful, I just couldn't let this moment go, I had to immortalize it."

 

Josie looks at her with a strange look. It looks like a little more than love, but Hope can't really put a word on it. Then the brunette is kissing her, and it doesn't matter anymore. Hope's hands find their way to Josie's waist with ease as Josie's hands tangle in her hair. They kiss, again and again. The kisses are loving, bruising, passionate. Suddenly, Hope feels the need for more so she gently pushes Josie to the bed. When the brunette's knees hit the bed, she breaks their kisses.

 

"I wasn't supposed to kiss you until you'd feed." Josie says, breathless.

 

"What about... I promise to feed later, after we... you know." Hope says, unable to say the word out loud.

 

Josie giggles. "Hope Mikaelson, are you ashamed of saying the word sex?"

 

Hope groans. "I hate this word. It seems so generic. It lacks... love."

 

Josie grows serious. "We don't have to call it that then." Josie kisses Hope gently. "Let's make love Hope."

 

Hope smiles shyly. "That's better."

 

"Good then it's a deal."

 

Josie reaches for Hope's shirt and takes it off quickly. Hope smiles widely, she loved how Josie just got her. Before taking Josie's shirt off, Hope leans in to kiss her with all the love she can muster.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> So I'm sorry I kinda abandoned this fic for a little while.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

It's around noon when everyone is gathered in the headmasters' office. Alaric and Caroline are standing side by side behind their desk, Alaric as serious as can be and Caroline with a bright smile. On one side fo the room, there's Hope's family, including Kol and Davina. On the other side, there's her friends, including Lizzie and Josie. Hope stands in the middle, her chin high and her arms crossed. She won't go down without a fight, they wouldn't lock her up again and she wasn't going back to New Orleans.

 

"We've made a decision." Alaric begins.

 

"We think it's what's best for everyone." Caroline continues.

 

"You're not sending Hope away." Lizzie speaks as she stands up.

 

"Yeah, she's staying here." Josie backs her up.

 

"We can help her here." MG adds with a bright smile. "She can control the hunger. She's the strongest person here!"

 

Hope looks at them with a hint of amusement in her eyes, a smirk on her lips. She was glad to have them around. Maybe it had taken her a while to find her friends, but she found the best ones.

 

"Guys, they haven't even told us what they decided." Hope teases her friends.

 

"We're defending you, dumbass!" Lizzie says, looking outraged.

 

Hope rolls her eyes. "We don't even know if I need to be defended."

 

"You fuck-" Lizzie starts.

 

Josie interrupts her. "Enough you two!" She glares at them both.

 

Lizzie rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, clearly annoyed by her sister. Hope on the other hand immediately blushes, ashamed that her girlfriend had to berate her like that. She didn't say anything though, she didn't want Josie to be angry at her.

 

"Thank you Josie." Caroline says. "Now, as we were saying, we made a decision. Hope is staying here."

 

Josie looks surprised but she smiles brightly. "Really?"

 

Caroline smiles softly at her daughter's happiness. "Yes. As headmasters of this school, it's our duty to help her. As her mentors, we must teach her how to control herself, and I think I owe it to Klaus to help his little girl."

 

There's a little awkward pause after Caroline's words. Hope feels a pang of pain and sadness when she hears her father's name, but she doesn't say a word.

 

"We'll be staying in Mystic Falls for a while." Rebekah speaks up.

 

"Well, not us." Kols says. "I love you Hope, but Davina and I need to go back home. I'll be a phone call away though, don't hesitate."

 

"I understand uncle Kol." Hope says with a soft smile. "Thank you for coming here in the first place. I'll call you."

 

"Good! Honey, we have a plane to catch." Kol says as he takes Davina's hand in his.

 

Kol says his goodbye to his family and kisses Hope on the forehead. Davina gives Hope a big hug and Hope promises to call her every week to give her updates. As Hope says goodbye to Davina, she doesn't notice the conversation Kol is having with Josie. So when they're gone and Hope notices that her girlfriend is as red as a tomato, she quickly gets closer to her.

 

"Are you okay Jo?" Hope says, her voice full of concern.

 

"Uh, yeah." Josie mumbles.

 

The amused smiles on her aunts face prompt Hope to glare at the women.

 

"What happened?"

 

"Kol just gave your girlfriend some advice on how to keep a Mikaelson woman around." Freya says.

 

Hope feels the embarressement hit her like a ton of bricks. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. The red that taints her cheeks matches the one on Josie's own cheeks. Alaric clears his throat, and that when Hope realizes that he's deeply uncomfortable. How could she blame him? His daughter and the girl he had taken under his wing were now dating.

 

"Anyway... Did you feed this morning Hope?" Alaric asks.

 

Suddenly, all eyes are on the tribrid. She almost groans at the attention. She's glad when Josie decides to answer for her.

 

"No, she didn't. The animal blood doesn't work for her. Since she fed on me yesterday, I didn't think it'd be a good idea to let her take more today."

 

Alaric looks about to yell at them, but Caroline quickly elbows him in the ribs. He whines from the pain, but says nothing.

 

"Good call, baby." Caroline smiles. "Hope, today you'll be learning how to feed yourself without leaving any evidence. It's risky, so you'll have to be very careful. Rebekah, Marcel and I will teach you everything you need to know."

 

Hope's eyes are wide in surprise. "Really? You won't force me to feed with that gross blood?"

 

"Well, obviously it's not working. We're not about to let you starve yourself." Freya says.

 

Hope looks down in shame. "I wasn't doing that on purpose. It was just so gross, that I kept pushing it back until I was pratically starving."

 

Hope feels Josie's hand slip into hers. The tribrid looks at her girlfriend with a grateful smiles. Hope tugs on Josie hand, when she's close enough, Hope leans in and kisses the brunette's cheek. Josie smiles sheepishly and squeezes her hand.

 

"You two are so cute." Keelin says with a soft smile.

 

Lizzie fake gags. "They're disgusting."

 

"Jealous, Lizzie?" Hope teases. "I could kiss Josie right n-"

 

"Please don't" Alaric dead pans.

 

Hope's head snaps in his direction and her face flushes. "I'm sorry Dr. Saltzman."

 

"Just keep the PDA to a minimum for the time being." He receives a glare frome Caroline. "Please?"

 

Hope nods. "Of course."

 

He forces a smile and claps his hands. "Good. Now every student goes to class, except Hope of course."

 

He gets a chorus of groans as the teenagers get out of the office. The only two that don't move are Hope and Josie. Josie is hesitant to leave Hope behind and clutches her girlfriend's hand a little tighter.

 

"Maybe I could- " Josie starts.

 

"Go to class." Hope cuts her off. "We're going back to normal love. You go learn geometry while I learn how to feed myself, okay?"

 

Josie gives her a tight-lipped smile, still obviously unsure. "Okay."

 

She's about to go, but Hope catches her wrist. "I'll see you at lunch?"

 

"Yeah."

 

They share one last smile before Josie finally goes to class.

 


	14. Chapter 14

When Hope doesn't show up at lunch, Josie gets worried. She goes straight to her father's office, demanding where her girlfriend is. Alaric promises to her that Hope is fine, she's just not back yet. Deep down, Josie knows she shouldn't be worrying that much, but she can't help it. She goes through her classes without listening. One or two teachers ask her is she's okay. She puts on her best fake smile and tell them she's fine. As soon as her last class is over, Josie goes to Hope's room. All her worries die out when she opens the door to the tribrid's room and finds Hope in the middle of the room only covered by a towel. It's pretty clear she was just getting out of the shower since her hair is all wet. As soon as Hope sees Josie, her lips form a blinding smile.

 

"Hey." She says quietly.

 

Josie notices that Hope looks good. Her eyes are shining, and the dark circles she had under them that morning were now gone. Her smile is genuine and not forced. Josie feels so relieved to see her girlfriend healthy and happy that she can't help but move closer and pull her into a deep kiss. Hope kisses her back instantly. One of her hands stays on the towel, keeping it in place, while the other tangles into Josie's hair. The kiss doesn't last long, but when they part, they rest their forehead together.

 

"Missed me?" Hope says with a teasing smile.

 

"Yeah." Josie answers honestly.

 

Hope smiles at her before taking a step back. "I'm just going to put some clothes on, okay?"

 

"If you want to." Josie says with a shrug.

 

Hope laughs and shakes her head as she moves to get some clothes. Josie sits on the bed and watches as Hope's get dressed. Even her body looked better than it had that morning.

 

"You look better."

 

Hope looks over her shoulder at Josie after putting some pants on. "I feel better."

 

"Did you... feed on a human? Or did my mom show you how to get blood bags?"

 

Hope puts a shirt on and she's now fully clothed. She doesn't turn around, and just like that Josie knows she's nervous.

 

"Your mother showed me how to do both actually. That's why I was back later than I thought." Hope says before walking to her desk.

 

Hope never looks back at Josie, she busies herself with moving some paper around on her desk. Josie almost hears the gears spinning inside her girlfriend's head. So the younger girl does the only thing she can think about, she walks over to Hope and takes her in her arms. Josie rests her head on Hope's shoulder, and her hands on her stomach. She feels how Hope stiffens, even if it's only for a second.

 

"What's wrong?" Josie asks quietly.

 

Hope takes a deep breath. "I- I don't want you to see me as a monster."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I fed on a boy today. As soon as I started to suck his blood, I felt like I couldn't stop. It just felt so good, I wanted to drain him of his blood. I would've have sucked him dry if your mother hadn't been there."

 

Josie hears every word Hope says, but she doesn't know what to say. So instead of saying anything, she tightens her hold on Hope. Josie kisses Hope's neck once, then twice, and she's about to do it again when Hope turns around in her arms. They stare at each other, and Josie sees what Hope had been desperatly trying to hide. She sees fear in Hope's blue eyes.

 

"You're not a monster."

 

Hope's jaw tenses. "I was about to _kill_ him Josie."

 

"Yeah. A lot of people in this school killed people. Some of them enjoyed it, and they're still here. My mother and my father both killed before, but it doesn't mean they're bad people. They're no monsters, and neither are you."

 

Hope gets out of Josie's embrace and paces around her room. The tribrid crosses her arms and seems to be in deep thoughts.

 

"You're trying to push me away." Josie states. "It won't work."

 

Hope stops her movements. She looks Josie straight in the eyes for the first time since they started their conversation.

 

"I'm not -"

 

Josie cuts her off. "You are, but it's okay, it won't work. I love you and I'm not letting you detroy this."

 

Hope's face is full of vulnerability. She uncrosses her arms and slowly walks over to her girlfriend. She raises her hand to Josie's cheek and carresses it softly.

 

"Sorry..." Hope whispers.

 

"Don't be."

 

Josie tugs on Hope's shirt until they're near the bed. Their eyes don't leave each other as they go to the bed and I love you's are exchanged all the way.

 

"Let's cuddle for a while, okay?" Josie whispers.

 

Hope nods and they both move to settle under the covers. Hope turns her back to Josie, a silent invitation to spoon her. Josie doesn't wait and pulls the tribrid as close to her as possible.

 

"We're gonna be okay." Josie quietly says near Hope's ear.

 

Both girls stay quiet after that, simply enjoying each other's company. Josie notices that Hope's breath evens out after a long moment. She smiles when she realizes her girlfriend fell asleep. Only then does she closes her own eyes.

 

*****

 

When Josie opens her eyes the next morning, she falls into the blue eyes of her girlfriend. Josie turns to lay on her back and breaks eye contact.

 

"How long have you been awake?" Josie asks.

 

"Not long." Hope answers.

 

Hope puts her hand over Josie's waist and nuzzles her face into her neck. Josie smiles as the tribrid cuddles into her. The younger girl raises her hand to gently play with Hope's hair. They stay like that for a while, and neither of them says a thing. They're broken out of their peaceful moment by a knock on the door. Josie tries to get up, but Hope's hold on her waist tightens.

 

"Come in." Hope calls out.

 

Hope's hold doesn't loosen as the person walks in, and she doesn't get her head out of Josie's neck. She even drops a few kisses on the skin she founds there, tickling Josie in the process. It gets a giggle out of the brunette.

 

"You are disgusting." Lizzie says. "That's my sister blood-sucker."

 

Hope finally lifts her head and looks at Lizzie with a smug smile. "I've done way worse than this, you know?"

 

That's when Josie rolls her eyes and gets out of Hope's hold.

 

"Stop it." She says as she gets up from the bed. Lizzie gives her own smug smile to Hope and she opens her mouth to speak. "The both of you." Josie speaks before Lizzie has the chance to.

 

"Fine." Lizzie says as she rolls her eyes. "We're having breakfast with the Mikaelsons in our parents office this morning, mom asked me to tell you."

 

Without goodbye, Lizzie gets out of the room. Hope is now sitting in bed and watches her girlfriend with a soft smile.

 

"Our families are blending together."

 

"Yeah." Josie says smiling back at Hope.

 

"Do you think that's how it'll be? Our families having meals together, your sister and I bickering, us being in love..."

 

"I sure hope so, because it sounds wonderful to me."

 

"Yeah, to me too."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, ok... I know it's short (again), but I really wanted to give you some fluff before I wrap everything up in the next (and final) chapter. 
> 
> I hope you still enjoyed it!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The last chapter is finally here. I hope you enjoyed the ride and that you're ready for this one.
> 
> *It was like 2 am when I finished the chapter. I'm sorry for the mistakes.*

Hope and Josie walk hand in hand to the headmasters' office. Hope is still laughing at what Josie just told her. The brunette had kept quiet about what Kol had told her before his departure, but after a lot of pushing, Hope was able to make the younger girl talk. Josie tells her the most serious part. The one where Kol told her to just agree with Hope when she's angry. That part made Josie laugh, knowing full well he was partly joking. Then she briefly mentions something about sex, and the witch's embarrassment is so vivid that it makes Hope laugh. Her laughter soon dies out though, because there's a bad surprise waiting for them when they walk into the office. Lucas, Alicia and an unknown woman are all sitting in the middle of the office. Alicia turns around and smirks at them.

 

"Hey princess, it's good to see you again." She says to Josie. "Still with the mutt, uh?"

 

"It's enough Ali!" The woman says with an angry look. "Don't you think you're in enough trouble?"

 

Alicia immediately looks embarrassed. "Sorry mom."

 

Alaric clears his throat and gives everyone a smile. "Come in girls, we were about to have a little chat."

 

Hope does move into the room, but she never takes her eyes off of Alicia. She pulls lightly on Josie's hand, keeping her as close as possible.

 

"Hope, Josie, this is Morgan Lockwood, Alicia's mother and Lucas' guardian." Alaric introduces the woman.

 

"Tell me she's here to take them away from here." Josie speaks up.

 

"Not exactly, no." Caroline says. "Let's start from the beginning, okay? Alicia has something to tell Hope."

 

The girl stays silent and even crosses her arms in defiance, but she changes her mind after a single glare from her mother. Alicia rolls her eyes and finally looks at Hope.

 

"Sorry I kidnapped you." Morgan raises her eyebrows at her, prompting her to speak more. "And that I tortured and chained you." Alicia looks at her mother. "Was that good enough?" She asks sarcastically.

 

Morgan smiles. "I don't know, let's ask Hope."

 

Hope shakes her head. "She doesn't mean any of it. It doesn't matter though. Just tell us what's happening. Are they staying here?"

 

"I was hoping you'd be okay with that." Morgan says. "I know what they did to you was wrong, but they're not bad kids. I know that they can redeem themselves. They just need a chance. This place is all about second chances, right?"

 

Hope clenches her jaw and look away. She's trying to gain control of her emotions, but it's harder than it used to be. Did Alicia and Lucas really deserve a second chance? They tortured her without thinking twice. Hope could remember every second of the pain they put her through. She's about to say they can't stay, but then she looks up and meet Alicia's eyes. She looks nervous and a little lost, and a lot like every teenager that walks into the school for the first time.

 

"They can stay." Hope says. Then she turns to Josie and smiles. "Let's get lunch, okay? I'm hungry."

 

Before Josie can answer, she's being pulled out of the office. After a little while, Josie stops Hope and make her look at her in the eyes.

 

"Just... tell me what's going in your head please." Josie softly asks of Hope.

 

Hope smiles. "They're teenagers Jo, just like us. I'm no better than them. Remember that I tortured Roman after my mother was killed. I tortured my uncle too. Nobody's perfect, and everybody deserves another chance. It just sucks that I was the one that had to give it to them."

 

Josie doesn't says anything for a while. She just looks at Hope with her eyes a little wide. Then she leans in and softly kisses Hope. It barely last a couple of seconds, but it leaves both girls smiling.

 

"I think you have no idea how brave you are Hope Mikaelson."

 

Hope laughs a little and give Josie a genuine smile.

 

"Can we go eat now?" The tribrid asks. "I wasn't joking earlier, I'm really hungry."

 

Josie chuckles and starts walking again, but Hope doesn't move for a moment. She watches as Josie's hair moves with every step. The only that fills her heart in that moment is how much she loves that girl.

 

*****

 

As Hope is sitting at lunch with her girlfriend's hand in hers, she feels lucky. Lucky to have Josie look at her like she's the one hanging the stars every night. Lucky to have Lizzie playfully bicker with her. Lucky to have her friends that are literally ready to fight for her. Later, when Josie and her walk into her room, Hope gently closes the door behind them. She watches as Josie takes off her shoes and gets comfortable on what has become their bed. When Josie looks up at her and gives her a questionning smile, Hope smiles back.

 

"I'm in love with you." Hope simply says.

 

Josie smiles fondly. "I'm in love with you too."

 

"I don't think you understand how I really feel about you." Hope says as she shakes her head.

 

The brunette frowns, confused. "What do you mean?"

 

"I'd spend the rest of my life with you if you wanted me to. I'd love you every second of every day, and I'd never make you doubt it. I just wish you'll never get tired of me."

 

Instead of replying, Josie opens her arms, a signal for Hope to join her in bed, so Hope does. As soon as she's in Josie's arms, Hope breathes deeply. Josie's smell was definitely Hope's favorite thing in the world. It had only one bad side, it made Hope thirsty as hell. When the tribrid feels the thirst coming she quickly gets up and speed walk far away from her girlfriend.

 

"Hey, what's wrong?" Josie says as soon as Hope gets up. "Your eyes... Hope you need to feed."

 

"Y-yeah. I forgot today."

 

"It's okay." Josie says softly as she gets up from the bed. "You just need to go feed. Want me to go see your aunt of my mom?"

 

"No!" Hope protests. "Just... just stay here. I'll be back soon, I promise."

 

"Okay." Josie replies quietly.

 

Hope comes back to her room in the middle of the night. Josie is curled up in bed, already asleep. She's holding Hope's pillow tightly to her chest. It takes Hope half of a second to realise that Josie is having a nightmare. For a second, Hope curses Josie's subconscious. The brunette deserved a good night of sleep. Then the tribrid rushes to the bed and carefully shakes her girlfriend awake. Josie's eyes snap open, and they're full of fear and panic.

 

"It's okay love, it was just a nightmare." Hope whispers softly.

 

Upon realising that Hope is with her, Josie starts to cry. Josie's reaction takes Hope by suprise and the tribrid wonders what exactly is happening. But she doesn't ask, instead she just holds Josie a little tighter. In fact, she holds Josie until her sobs stop and her heart beat regains its normal speed.

 

"You know..." Josie starts quietly. "Earlier, you said you hoped I wouldn't get tired of you."

 

"Yeah."

 

"It won't happen." Josie says. "I want us to be together forever Hope Mikaelson. You're stuck with me."

 

Hope smiles. "Good."

 

*** A YEAR LATER ***

 

Josie watches as Hope puts the last box in the truck of her uncle Kol. She feels sick as she sees her girlfriend's stuff being put away in that truck. Lizzie is sitting on her right side and MG on the other. MG holds her hand tightly, while Lizzie is cuddled into her side. Josie's grateful of their presence, but she's afraid it does nothing to help her. Hope was leaving. College was waiting for her, and it happened to be about 5 hours away from Mystic Falls. Hope is starting to say goodbye to the people that gathered around the truck. Landon, Rafael, Penelope, Kaleb, Pedro, Alaric and Caroline are all there. Hope hugs them all, exchanges some words with them. But soon, the tribrid is looking around her, looking for a very specific person. When her eyes land on Josie, she makes her way to her.

 

Hope smiles at the three of them. "Hey guys, would you mind giving us a moment?"

 

"Sure thing." MG says.

 

He squeezes Josie's hand and gives her a warm smile before walking away. Lizzie is more hesitant to leave. She looks at Josie to be sure that her twin wants this conversation to happen. Josie nods and gives her sister a teary smile. Lizzie gets up to leave, but not without glaring at Hope.

 

"Fix this, asshole."

 

"I'll miss you too Lizzie." Hope replies.

 

Hope sits down to Josie's right, where Lizzie had been sitting a second before. She hesitates to touch Josie, knowing full well that the brunette is upset.

 

"I'm sorry." Josie says with a dark chuckle. "I'm kinda making a scene. I didn't mean to..."

 

Hope cuts her off. "Don't apologize." The tribrid gently lifts Josie's chin so that the younger girl finally meets her eyes. "I'm hurting too."

 

"I just... Why don't you stay? I- I can't do this. You not being here... it's gonna be torture."

 

Hope sighs. "I can't stay. I wanna go to college, it's... it's important to me. But believe me, being away from you is gonna kill me." Hope reaches inside the pocket of her leather jacket and pulls out a tiny box. "This is why I bought you this."

 

Josie's eyes grow wide. Was Hope going to propose? She wasn't even 18! Hope quickly sees the panic on Josie's face and rushes to explain herself.

 

"This is a promise ring! I'm not like... proposing to you." Hope groans and put the box inside her pocket again. "I'm doing this all wrong." She mutters.

 

"Wait!" Josie says. "Sorry, I just kinda panicked. Can I see it?"

 

Hope takes the box out again and hands it to Josie. When the younger girl opens the box, she gasps. The ring is beautiful. It's simple, with an infinity symbole on top, and the words 'Always and forever' written on the inside. Josie feels herself tear up and when she looks at Hope again, she's quick to reassure her girlfriend.

 

"It's beautiful. I love it." Josie says. "Can I..?"

 

"Of course!" Hope says with a smile.

 

Josie carefully takes the ring out and slips it on. She doesn't realise she's smiling until she sees that Hope is matching her smile.

 

"You and I, Jo... I want it to be always and forever. I'll work everyday to make it happen."

 

Josie smiles and giggles. "What about the people you'll meet in college? Maybe someone will catch your eye."

 

"Never." Hope says without hesitation. "I'd never say always and forever lightly."

 

It makes Josie smile softly. She looks Hope in the eyes for a moment before leaning in to capture her lips in a sweet kiss. It's one of the slowest kiss they ever shared. It means a lot of things. Things like : "I'll miss you", "I love you" and even "Don't forget me". When Hope pulls away, she gently lays her forehead on Josie's and sighs.

 

"I'll come back to see you everytime I can." Hope says.

 

"And I'll spend christmas in New Orleans with you."

 

"Yeah."

 

They stay like that for a moment, until Hope's aunt walks to them.

 

"Hope, I'm really sorry to cut this short, but it's time to go." Rebekah says.

 

"Yeah, uh, I'll be there in a second." Hope says.

 

Rebekah leaves and Hope closes her eyes.

 

"Hope... Just go. The more we wait, the more it'll hurt."

 

"Okay."

 

With a last quick kiss, Hope gets up and moves to the truck. She opens the door, but she doesn't get in without glancing one last time at Josie. The brunette gives her girlfriend her best smile, and it's all it takes for Hope to step into the truck. And just like that she's gone. As soon as the truck is out of sight, Lizzie and their parents are rushing to Josie's side. They're all a bit surprised to find that Josie's not crying, just softly smiling.

 

"I'm okay you guys." Josie says.

 

Alaric quickly spots the ring on Josie's finger and his eyes grow wide.

 

"Tell me you didn't actually got engaged."

 

At his scandalized face, Josie can't help but laugh. Though, when she realises that her mother is equally mortified, she's quick to explain.

 

"It's a promise ring."

 

Understanding washes over them and they both look very relieved to hear that.

 

"What is the promise you made?" Lizzie asks.

 

"Always and forever."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S OVER :( 
> 
> Or is it?..
> 
> I was thinking of doing another fic that would follow this one. What do you think?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know what you think!


End file.
